Sony has really made a mess of things with their Digital Rights Management software. In a utterly misguided attempt to prevent copying of their music CDs, the company hid software on the CDs that secretly changes the core operating system on Windows.
Just today, Macintouch said they had information from a reader that found a similar Mac program hidden on a Sony CD. But wait--there's more. According to Slashdot, a class action lawsuit has been filed in California against Sony, claiming the company has violated three state laws that prohibit hacking and putting secret software on computers. And a boycott has been announced against Sony.
All of this is going to hurt the company badly at a time when Sony has not been able to compete well in the consumer electronics market. The unwritten story is about outsourcing. The company outsourced the DRM to third parties and then apparently stuck it on their music CDs with little or no internal review, legal or technical. Outsourcing is often touted as a less expensive way to acquire products and services, but the DRM Sony bought directly affected their core product. It is a perfect example of why indiscriminate outsourcing is so dangerous. It looks good on the financials, but if it damages the company the way this has, it is a false economy.
But wait! There is still MORE! The Register reports that a virus has been found using the secret Sony software as a vector. The Sony software hides files that start with "$sys$", so a virus writer designed a little virus that comes attached to an email and is very difficult to find if the Sony software is installed. Murphy's Law is working overtime on this one.