mickydibble
6th January, 2011, 10:33 PM
The PlayStation 3 has been hacked, allowing users to run home-made games, applications and even pirated software.
The PS3 has long been a target of hackers, who have seen the system?s notoriously rigorous security measures as something of a challenge. That has been overcome now, with Stateside hacker ?pytey?, a member of the ?fail0verflow? group, commenting: ?The complete console is compromised - there is no recovery from this. This is as bad as it gets. Someone is getting into serious trouble at Sony right now.?
The ?fail0verflow? collective has a proven track record in this arena, having previously hacked the Wii and unlocked Apple?s iPhone. The group professes no interest in software piracy and claims to have developed the PS3 hack solely in order to run alternative operating systems and unlicensed ?Homebrew? software. Other, less principled users could also employ the hack to run illegally copied games on the PS3, of course, which is where the real danger lies for Sony.
The new hack works by exposing the PlayStation 3?s ?master key?. This supposedly secret numerical code is used to authenticate all games and software. ?fail0verflow? hackers were able to work around this because of a ?critical mistake? Sony made in its implementation. The validation process requires a totally random and unpredictable number, but Sony used a constant number instead. In the end hackers were able to crack the code using simple algebra ? and they didn?t even need to see the actual PS3 master key.
?fail0verflow? has so far published its methodology but not the master key itself. However, rival hacker George Hotz has used a similar technique and released the key in its entirety. That?s unlikely to be much use to the average PlayStation 3 gamer, although Hotz may yet release an application allowing users to run their own homemade games on the system.
Sony is known to take a very dim view of those who attempt to bypass the PS3?s security. A previous effort to do so ? the infamous ?PSjailbreak? dongle which was released last year ? was met with legal action and a swift firmware update for the PS3. Such a solution is unlikely to work on this occasion, though. According to ?pytey? ?The only way to fix this is to issue new hardware. Sony will have to accept this. I haven't stolen anything. It's my own hardware, I can run whatever I like on it.? Hotz concurs, but does admit to being scared of a lawsuit.
Sony, meanwhile, has yet to comment on the whole matter. But you can bet that its engineers and lawyers are preparing a draconian response right now...
The PS3 has long been a target of hackers, who have seen the system?s notoriously rigorous security measures as something of a challenge. That has been overcome now, with Stateside hacker ?pytey?, a member of the ?fail0verflow? group, commenting: ?The complete console is compromised - there is no recovery from this. This is as bad as it gets. Someone is getting into serious trouble at Sony right now.?
The ?fail0verflow? collective has a proven track record in this arena, having previously hacked the Wii and unlocked Apple?s iPhone. The group professes no interest in software piracy and claims to have developed the PS3 hack solely in order to run alternative operating systems and unlicensed ?Homebrew? software. Other, less principled users could also employ the hack to run illegally copied games on the PS3, of course, which is where the real danger lies for Sony.
The new hack works by exposing the PlayStation 3?s ?master key?. This supposedly secret numerical code is used to authenticate all games and software. ?fail0verflow? hackers were able to work around this because of a ?critical mistake? Sony made in its implementation. The validation process requires a totally random and unpredictable number, but Sony used a constant number instead. In the end hackers were able to crack the code using simple algebra ? and they didn?t even need to see the actual PS3 master key.
?fail0verflow? has so far published its methodology but not the master key itself. However, rival hacker George Hotz has used a similar technique and released the key in its entirety. That?s unlikely to be much use to the average PlayStation 3 gamer, although Hotz may yet release an application allowing users to run their own homemade games on the system.
Sony is known to take a very dim view of those who attempt to bypass the PS3?s security. A previous effort to do so ? the infamous ?PSjailbreak? dongle which was released last year ? was met with legal action and a swift firmware update for the PS3. Such a solution is unlikely to work on this occasion, though. According to ?pytey? ?The only way to fix this is to issue new hardware. Sony will have to accept this. I haven't stolen anything. It's my own hardware, I can run whatever I like on it.? Hotz concurs, but does admit to being scared of a lawsuit.
Sony, meanwhile, has yet to comment on the whole matter. But you can bet that its engineers and lawyers are preparing a draconian response right now...