Rootkits and the garden of good and evil

By Ellen Messmer, NetworkWorld.com, 05/30/06

Software technology is far from being a neutral realm untroubled by questions of good and evil. Bring up the question of whether "rootkits" are always to be considered bad, or whether they can be used for ethical purposes, and the result is close to a moral debate.

First off, you have to ask what a "rootkit" is, and barring a common definition that all may agree upon, we can look to a statement by Mark Russinovich, perhaps the world's most famous rootkit investigator, for some guidance.

Russinovich has written, "Rootkits are cloaking techniques that hide files, registry keys, and other system objects from diagnostic and security software, and they are usually employed by malware attempting to keep their implementation hidden."

If the question, then, about rootkits, is whether use of cloaking and stealth technologies is objectionable in commercial software, the next question is why.

Our story this week presents the strongly held viewpoints on this topic that garnered debate after Russinovich revealed Sony BMG Entertainment Group was using a rootkit for purposes of copyright protection in CDs.

Have your own viewpoint on rootkits and commercial software? Let me know at emessmer@nww.com.

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