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Sony BMG will have a big job ahead of it as it tries to replace all copies of controversial copy protection software, according to a computer security expert, who says that he has evidence there are more than 500,000 versions of the program installed worldwide.

Dan Kaminsky, an independent security researcher, discovered evidence that so-called “rootkit” style stealth programs developed by U.K. firm First 4 Internet Ltd. and used by Sony while conducting an audit of the DNS (Domain Name System) infrastructure. Sony BMG has declined past requests to comment on the number of systems that run the software, known as XCP. However, Kaminsky’s figures, if true, suggest that the software, which shipped on CDs by just 20 Sony BMG artists, has already been distributed and installed widely around the world.

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