The next phase of my investigation would be to verify that the rootkit and its hidden files were related to that CD’s copy protection, so I inserted the CD into the drive and double-clicked on the icon to launch the player software, which has icons for making up to three copy-protected backup CDs

Sony is using rootkit like programs to "protect" their cds now.

Mark's Sysinternals Blog: Sony, Rootkits and Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far