PS3 Hacks Huge, Threat Even Bigger
The PS3 has been hacked at the most core level possible, and it's threatening the sanctity of trophies, the security of the PS3 system itself, and more. And Sony's mad as hell. Let's dive in, shall we?
Jailbreak exploits to run third-party software (and to kind of get pirated games running) have been around on the PS3 for months now, sometimes with or without the ability for these players to get on PSN. But a couple of weeks ago, a guy named George Hotz (aka Geohot, the guy who jailbroke the iPhone) used some method to figure out the PS3's root key. This is the specific string of characters used to encrypt all PS3 software as being produced by Sony, and it has huge ramifications for the future of the PS3.
For one, it will likely lead to ridiculously easy pirating, but even worse, it will also probably lead to the legitimacy of PSN falling apart. Since any software can be properly "signed" now and trick the PS3 into thinking it's legit, people will be able to hack in any trophy they want, get online with hacked copies of games, and cause mayhem. The worst part is that due to the way a master cryptography key works, Sony can't really fix it unless they offer a voluntary recall of every PS3 and replace the most expensive guts with new ones. That'd be a huge cost that would likely bankrupt Sony.
And in standard corporate fashion, Sony has lawyered up, first trying to get a quick short-term injunction to stop the proliferation of said key on the internet. Not only has this proved to be unsuccessful with the judge so far, but even if they can get it removed from Geohot's site, that key is still out in the wild and will always be around somewhere. Much like with the DVD encryption key that was cracked and distributed on the internet so many years ago, once it's out in the wild, you can't make it disappear. Sony's also trying to sue the hell out of Geohot and another guy who contributed to the hack, presumably to scare any other would-be hackers into stopping all work on doing anything non-legit with the PS3.
The problem, of course, is that that won't work either. They have a decent chance of getting a monetary judgment by winning a court case against Geohot (who's now preparing a defense of "I just did it to bring back OtherOS support that Sony purposely removed in a previous PSN update" combined with a "jailbreaking is legal" defense based on what happened with the FTC and iPhone jailbreaking), as that defense may or may not work, but either way, hackers and anarchy will in all likelihood start ruining the experience for legit gamers in a few weeks/months. Yes, people will be able to install third-party software just like any other PS3 game, as well as pirated stuff, and that doesn't hurt every PS3 gamer out there, but cheaters will also be rampant on PSN - and that does hurt gamers.
What's worse? It's possible, even probable, that Sony won't be able to keep hackers and cheaters off of PSN. The 360 can by way of a permanent ban of a specific console and is only possible due to unique console IDs hard-wired in, but rumor has it that these can be changed on the PS3. Depending on how Sony set up that security, it might be impossible to stop people from logging on with a new ID every time.
Comments
I gather from what I've been reading on the PS3 forums the main reason for the CFW released, was Sony's pulling OtherOS from the console. When I bought the PS3 I bought it primarily for the Blu-Ray player and the ability to use it as a computer. Blu-Ray players were 200 -300 more then the PS3. And it can play PS2 games, which my daughter had plenty of. Was into our Futurshop and found previously used PS2 games for $2.00 and PS3's for as low as $10. That said I like the idea of playing the games off the harddrive to preserve the original game disk. The newer games are not cheap, GT5, I had to pay $55 and then couldn't play until I updated the FW . Got the Move bundle, again it needed the FW to be updated. There was nowhere that I could see that said it needed the newest to beable to use. I was able to return the bundle but not the game. What gives Sony the right to take away an ability to something that they advertised as a selling point so that I might beable to play the newer games or even use the newer equipment. So I think that Sony should be counter sued for false advertisement......
Now I can proudly put on my eye patch and play all those pirated games I have been collecting. Add me on PSN. arrrg.