Slashdot Mirror
US Entertainment Industry To Congress: Make It Legal For Us To Deploy Rootkits
An anonymous reader writes "The hilariously named 'Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property' has finally released its report, an 84-page tome that's pretty bonkers. But there's a bit that stands out as particularly crazy: a proposal to legalize the use of malware in order to punish people believed to be copying illegally. The report proposes that software would be loaded on computers that would somehow figure out if you were a pirate, and if you were, it would lock your computer up and take all your files hostage until you call the police and confess your crime. This is the mechanism that crooks use when they deploy ransomware."
These guys are the biggest thieves of the lot.
What's really surprising is that torrents aren't infected up the wazoo with malware anyway.
Maybe they should have a taste of how rootkits feel like.
I always been saying that the entertainment industry was the real pirate as what they were doing was closer to sailing the seas to sinking ship, steal booty and murder crewman then simply sharing data over the Internet. Now anyone not seeing it that way has no excuse.
"This is the mechanism that crooks use when they deploy ransomware."
Enough said.
blindly antisocialist = antisocial
Let's say this does get legalised, somehow. Have fun trying to export any infected products to the rest of the world!
And for everybody else trying to sell entertainment products made in the US, all the people who make sensible data with no rootkits in it, have fun trying to convince the rest of the world to trust you! People will just see "Made in the US" and read it as "This will destroy your computer" regardless of whether there's malware present or not.
So, if I do something that is legal but Sony thinks should be illegal then the laws are changed.
If Sony does something that is illegal but they think should be legal then the laws are also changed.
Seems reasonable.
Also, never let a product with the Sony-logo into your home. You never know what approach they will use to contaminate your computer.
It deeply saddens me that people continue to support companies that pull this kind of crap.
I'm sure that Sony/Microsoft et al would change their tune of their products weren't selling. But, when their selling millions of crippled or bugged titles, my lone voice is crushed by the cacophonous accusations of paranoia.
In fact, this proposal will probably be refused.
But this is a strategy:
1) propose a tough law
2) wait for its refusal
3) propose a "lighter" one
Since the lighter one will appear innocuous and since the first one has been refused, the second will be accepted.
And you can bet that they wanted to propose the "light" one first, but it would have been probably refused if submitted first.
I do not trust a rent seeking organization of any sort to not "make mistakes" on calling people pirates.
They're trying to be judge, jury, executioner, AND witness.
These people sue grandmas and dead people to get settlements. I wouldn't trust them not to frame someone that happens to have a fat bank account.
And even if they were simply incompetent, I still wouldn't trust them to actually care about making mistakes.
Use the fear.
Obviously allowing media companies to deploy root kits will increase the number of vulnerable machines on our nations part of the internet. Assuming this some how only finds its way on to home PC it still leaves many machines more vulnerable to attack by additional malware which might make them botnet members which could be used in DDOS attacks against critical business sectors like Finance and Healthcare.
Clearly the desire to do this shows the media companies behind it are irresponsible citizens endangering our national security at best actively aiding and abetting our enemies and terror organizations at worst. These are unAmerican activities and the industry participants need to be call out on it.
Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
In the end, socalled IP can only be enforced in this manner: Control over the machines used by the buyers, ie. the potential buyers, ie. the rabble. Only when we no longer control our machines, can you "sell" access - you need a gateway to extract money! Since the "you need the LP/CD/DVD"-model has died, the only possible gate is access and control over the machine.
So, the Free Software movement asks again: Who should own and control the machines we all use for work, entertainment, living?
IAIFARSIJDPOOTV - I Am In Fact A Reality Star; I Just Don't Play One On TV
But, sadly, the lawmakers will still do what they've been paid to do by these lobbyists, and the US has increasingly set themselves up to pin their future on copyright and all other forms of IP. They simply can't afford to do anything different now.
So I fear they're going to keep pushing from their end as hard as they can. Eventually, I'm pretty sure they're going to want every general purpose computer to be built in such a way that they have control over it.
Yes, the lawmakers who keep passing the laws they ask for.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Many large corporations, including the entertainment industry, are using -- or are looking at using -- proactive strategies as part of their security playbook. There was an interesting report on NPR concerning this a few months back. Currently, deploying malware is, to all intents and purposes, simply illegal. As it should be. These guys want a self-defense avenue for deploying destructive or surveillance programs against their perceived enemies. IMHO our corrupt congress will -- sooner or later -- be bribed into letting them have their way.
YOYO. You're On Your Own.
"No fear. No envy. No meanness." Liam Clancy
Just think, your grandfather will also be voting too. He'll be sure to vote for those who support fighting these evil pirate scum and their foreign comrades.
Take the Red Pill.
This is shameful, and I really hope the lawmakers tell them a big "no friggin' way".
The lawmakers will tell them, "wow, this will be tough to get through. And I'm very busy with my reelection campaign and fundraising right, now - it's very hard to do fundraising in this economy. If only I didn't need to spend so much time fundraising I might be able to work on this."
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Presumably hilarious by way of the inclusion of the words "American" and "Intellectual" consecutively.
No, it's hilarious because you'd think that people writing opinions about what should or should not become law would understand that "theft" isn't possible with intellectual property.
Intellectual property can be copied (possibly in a way that violates one or more laws), but it cannot be stolen.
There is only one way to be an IP thief: commit the rare act of fraudulently assuming control over someone else's copyright, patent or trademark.
Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
For example, if you take every copy of a work and lock it away, then it's been stolen.
If you claim copyright or patent control over a work without valid justification, then it's been stolen.
If you take from the public domain then copyright it so you alone now own it, it's been stolen.
In all three cases, the right of others who have the right to copy have had that right removed at least semi-permanently (if you get your stolen iPhone back, it doesn't mean it wasn't theft).
What ISN'T theft is making your own copy of something. Unless you stole someone else's copy, rather than make your own.