Anti-piracy CD problems vex Sony

Digital rights groups warned the music maker about vulnerabilities its MediaMax copy protection system created on users' PCs.

The same groups have now found that a patch Sony produced to close these holes is itself insecure and leaves users open to a separate attack.

On 6 December Sony BMG and digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) issued a joint statement about the discovery of problems with the MediaMax anti-piracy system made by SunnComm.

The statement also pointed users to a software patch that was supposed to close this loophole.

However, the EFF has now urged users not to apply this patch as separate work by security researchers Ed Felten and Alex Halderman shows it too introduces vulnerabilities.

Sony BMG said the MediaMax copy protection system, which is supposed to stop people making illegal copies of CDs, has been used on 50 titles sold in North America.

It said approximately six million CDs using MediaMax have been shipped to stores. Affected artists include Alicia Keys, Britney Spears, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Faithless.