[KLUG Advocacy] Sony vs HomeSec

[Andrew Thompson]

You may have heard recently about one of Sony's latest efforts to
protect its intellectual property. Some of its recent releases include
software on the CD which, when it's played on Windows, automatically
installs itself to the computer, taking over some of the system's
multimedia functions to monitor usage and limit copying. In addition, it
takes steps to hide itself from the user, and if found and removed,
leaves the CD drive inaccessible.

Sony has taken a bit of heat over this, as might be expected, but one of
the more recent developments is especially intriguing. It seems Stewart
Baker, recently appointed to the Department of Homeland Security, had a
word or two to say on the subject, as reported by Brian Krebs, here:

http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2005/11/the_bush_admini.html

My favorite part is this:

> Stewart continued: "It's very important to remember that it's your
> intellectual property -- it's not your computer. And in the pursuit of
> protection of intellectual property, it's important not to defeat or
> undermine the security measures that people need to adopt in these
> days.

"...not your computer." YES!! FINALLY, someone has the guts to come out
and say it!

-- 
Andrew Thompson <apthmpsn at imagerie.com>
The Imagerie (www.imagerie.com)