F-Secure: Some Sony USB drives installing rootkit in user machines

F-Secure: Some Sony USB drives installing rootkit in user machines

Finland based security application maker F-Secure has claimed that a particular line of Sony manufactured USB drives are installing rootkits on user machines.

The company claims that Sony MicroVault USM-F line of flash drives comes with fingerprint-reader software which installs a driver that hides in a hidden directory.

These files are not visible using the Windows Explorer on Windows. F-Secure researcher Mika Tolvanen added in a blog posting: “If you know the name of the directory, it is possible to enter the hidden directory using Command Prompt and it is possible to create new hidden files. There are also ways to run files from this directory.”

F-Secure is further claiming that this is similar to how the Sony’s DRM technology worked on some of their Audio CDs which created a big mess for the company 2 years back.

The security researchers further claimed that they first notified Sony “about a month ago” but got no response.

Checkout: Double Whammy! Another Sony Case (And it’s Not BioShock)