However, users of Zone Alarm 6.0 premium products are alerted to the original installation of the rootkit and have the choice to stop the process. Users who play Sony CDs on their PC have no way of knowing that the rootkit has been installed. However, the presence of the rootkit invites exploits from hackers that can also be hidden. Sony is leveraging the rootkit’s ability to hide the digital rights management software from users to deter them from bypassing or removing it. In this case the rootkit, developed by First 4 Internet, ships on Sony CDs as part of its digital rights management software. Rootkits are cloaking technologies that hide files, registry keys, and other system objects from diagnostic and security software on a PC, and they are usually employed by malicious software writers attempting to keep their files hidden.
"We are committed to creating technologies that prevent stealth software from being installed without the knowledge and consent of consumers." While we understand Sony’s need to protect its digital rights, compromising the security of their customers by using hacker-type technologies such as rootkits that create points of entry for actual hackers are not the answer," said Laura Yecies, general manager at Zone Labs and vice president at Check Point. "This new exploit is a classic example of why consumers need to be fully aware of all the software running on their PC. Unlike reactive antivirus solutions that took days to offer users a removal solution, ZoneAlarm’s vanguard OSFirewall™ proactively protected its users in advance by blocking the rootkit from gaining control of the PC prior to its installation. The new Trojan, named by Zone Labs antivirus partner Computer Associates (NYSE: CA), connects the compromised PC to an Internet chat relay server where it joins a bot net – a network of compromised computers used by hackers to launch denial of service attacks and distribute spam and other malware. – November 10, 2005: Zone Labs®, a Check Point® company (NASDAQ: CHKP), announced today that users of the award-winning ZoneAlarm® 6.0 line of Internet security solutions have, from day one, been proactively protected from the recently-reported rootkit packaged with select Sony music CDs and related threats, including a newly-launched Trojan attack that uses the Sony rootkit to hide within a PC. ZONEALARM CUSTOMERS PROTECTED FROM SONY ROOTKIT TROJAN
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