New Hack Could Create Problems for RIAA, MPAA

New Hack Could Create Problems for RIAA, MPAA

New hacker attacks appear all the time, but a recent exploit is of particular concern to the movie and record industries. The newly-discovered attack takes advantage of a rootkit called lockx.exe ― which was previously delivered to millions of PCs by the SDbot worm ― to covertly download movie files on a victim’s machine. Here, the lockx.exe rootkit is used to help plant corrupted copies of BitTorrent that automatically download the movie Mr. Bean to infected computers. The exploit, discovered by security firm FaceTime Communications, has been linked to a Middle East hacker group with a network of zombie machines that spread the attacks. It is unclear what the group’s motive is, but FaceTime suspects it is a test for a much more ambitious application.

A widespread dissemination of the hack would pose number of problems for both the MPAA and RIAA, as it sets up the scenario where attack victims could be falsely accused of file-sharing and sued. Worse, it could set up a “Virus Defense” in the US, in which anyone who is sued can simply blame all illicit download activities on the exploit. Sound far-fetched? The Virus Defense already stands as precedent in Great Britain, where it was successfully applied in a pedophilia case. The content industries could try to undermine this defense by attempting to hold file-sharers responsible for the security of their computers, just as the RIAA has attempted to hold parents responsible for the actions of their children. But that would be a dangerous precedent to set, particularly when Sony BMG is facing several lawsuits for a rootkit of its own.

Story by news analyst Richard Menta.

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