Fortium Technologies

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Fortium Technologies (formerly known as First 4 Internet) is a British company based in Bridgend, South Wales that develops and licenses DRM technology for use on optical discs in an attempt to prevent unauthorized copying. Fortium Technologies also creates image composition analysis software that claims to detect pornographic images for the purpose of Web or e-mail filtering, though critics have claimed the software is far from perfect and has been known to send many false alarms and warnings.

Fortium states [1] that it no longer develops active DRM that installs malware programs on end user’s computers since the 2005 SonyBMG Rootkit Scandal.

Attention was drawn to First 4 Internet in connection with the 2005 Sony BMG CD copy protection scandal since they developed the XCP Rootkit active component that was used on some SonyBMG CDs. According to on-line records at UK Companies House (link below), the name was changed to Fortium Technologies Ltd on 20th November 2006 in an attempt to dissociate themselves with the rootkit scandal. The production of CDs incorporating the rootkit technology was ceased by SONY BMG in November 2005 when First 4 Internet (Fortium Technologies) had a security issue with their rootkit. First 4 Internet ceased developing and licensing active software programs in November 2005 and since then only develops passive software programs.