Sony BMG settles in DRM case

Sony BMG has agreed to pay $4.5m to 39 states to settle suits from the 2005 distribution of CDs containing intrusive Digital Rights Management (DRM) software.

Consumers will be awarded up to $175 in damages stemming from case, according to Massachusetts attorney general Tom Reilly, who spearheaded the case.

The case dates back to 2005, when Sony sold 12 million discs that contained DRM software, some of which used a piece of "rootkit" software called XCP.

A rootkit is program that runs at a very low level of the system, allowing code to run undetected by anti-virus software. According to Reilly, users experienced CD-ROM drive crashes upon attempting to remove the XCP.

Additionally, the XCP technology became a favorite tool for attackers to install and execute malware.

A statement by Reilly also said that another type of DRM software used by Sony called MediaMax was installed without user consent and contained a vulnerability that security firm Secunia warned could allow for privilege escalation and manipulation of data.

Sony BMG has set up a website where users can file a claim.