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PlayStation 3 'hacked' by iPhone cracker

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8478764.stm

Quote:

A US hacker who gained notoriety for unlocking Apple's iPhone as a teenager has told BBC News that he has now hacked Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3).

George Hotz said the hack, which could allow people to run pirated games or homemade software, took him five weeks.

He said he was still refining the technique but intended to post full details online soon.

The PS3 is the only games console that has not been hacked, despite being on the market for three years.

"It's supposed to be unhackable - but nothing is unhackable," Mr Hotz told BBC News.

"I can now do whatever I want with the system. It's like I've got an awesome new power - I'm just not sure how to wield it."

Sony said it was "investigating the report" and would "clarify the situation" when it had more information.

'Open curiosity'

Mr Hotz said that he had begun the hack last summer when he had spent three weeks analysing the hardware.

After a long break, he spent a further two weeks cracking the console, which he described as a "very secure system".

He said that he was not yet ready to reveal the full details of the hack but said that it was "5% hardware and 95% software".

The hack could allow gamers to play pirated games
"You can use hardware to inject an insecurity and then you can build on that," he said.

He admitted that he had not managed to hack the whole system, including the protected memory, but had worked out ways to trick the console into doing what he wanted.

Mr Hotz said that he was continuing to work on the hack and, once finished, would publish details online in a similar way to his previous iPhone exploits.

In particular, he said, he would publish details of the console's "root key", a master code that once known would make it easier for others to decipher and hack other security features on the console.

He said his motivation was "curiosity" and "opening up the platform".

"To tell you the truth, I've never really played a PS3," he said. "I have one game, but I've never really played it."

Opening the system could allow people to install other operating systems on their console and play homemade games, he said.

In addition, he said, the hack would allow people to play older PS2 games on their consoles.

Recent versions of the PS3 do not have the ability to play PS2 games after Sony controversially removed a piece of hardware.

He admitted that it could also allow people to run pirated games.

"I'm not going to personally have anything to do with that," he told BBC News.

Gaming firms do not take the issue of game piracy and console modification lightly. Recently, Microsoft disconnected thousands of gamers from its online gaming service Xbox Live for modifying their consoles to play pirated games.

Mr Hotz said that the nature of his PS3 hack means that Sony may have difficulty patching the exploit.

"We are investigating the report and will clarify the situation once we have more information," said a Sony spokesman.

Mr Hotz rose to fame in 2007 at the age of 17 when he unlocked the iPhone, which could only be used on the AT&T network in the US at launch.

The hack allowed the popular handset to be used on any network.

He has since released various other hacks, allowing people to unlock later versions of the popular handset.

kudos to him.

i believe this about security: everything man can make, we can unmake.

Wow good for him indeed, I wonder if sony would offer
Him a job if he was actually able to crack it?
Posted via RS Mobile

I still rememer all the praise he was given after unlocking the iPhone... Mad props to him, especially at such a young age... And in such a short period of time!
Posted via RS Mobile

This is fucking amazing. Anyone who owns an iphone knows this guy. He must be simply genius in order to crack the things that other simply cannot. THIS is why he hasn't come out with the new bootloader fix for the newest iphones ... he has been working on this....

If you do some light reading on this guy, you will find he actually traded his very first cracked iphone for a used 350z. Pretty crazy.

shit, can you imagine if he worked for the Department Of Defense for the states?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jivan6 (Post 6786701)

shit, can you imagine if he worked for the Department Of Defense for the states?

yea b/c there's no way those guys know how to crack an iphone...

kudos for him for being able to crack the PS3.

Even if my PS3 may eventually be able to play pirated games, I am still going to the store to buy the real version.

i think the guy has some real potential for greatness. i kinda want the ps3 crack, don't know if i'll use it though

Notorious Hacker! This guy can't be stopped haha.

Good news.
Cant wait for the new bans on PS3.

Didn't he trade his iphone when he first unlocked it for a 350z?

damn geohot with another hack huh? I wouldnt mind hakcing mine to play ps2 games since my 60 gig YLOD :(. I would still buy games though cuz noone I know has a blu ray burner and blu ray disks are still expensive

wow i wanna eat his brains

^ hello Mr. Hannibal Lecter

like i've said in the other thread
this is useless for at least another 2-3 years and just mere bragging rights.

firmware will inevitably make this obsolete
blu-ray discs and burners will end up costing the same as buying a retail game when it's on sale.

Quote:

Originally Posted by twitchyzero (Post 6786872)

They will probably come up with a way to boot of an external drive.

now i wonna stop paying $80 bux for a game

Kudos ! Finally ! it's hacked !

I don't even understand how this kid has so much knowledge???
I remember when he first hardware unlocked the iPhone...
he sold it for $10,000 USD.

This kid is awesome.
He is like a magical engineer.

This kid is going to be snatched up by a big company for sure.
either sony, microsoft, or apple..

I mean who wouldn't want this guy working for them?
haha and you can probably just pay him in beer and the occasional lap dance

this is the guy.. looks like he stares at the computer 24/7

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...eorge_Hotz.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcus32 (Post 6786676)

kudos to him.

i believe this about security: everything man can make, we can unmake.

in this case we've also destroyed a lot that we didn't make..

Quote:

Originally Posted by eddy89 (Post 6786950)

this is the guy.. looks like he stares at the computer 24/7

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...eorge_Hotz.jpg

come on what did you expect... those are the guys that makes all the great technology you use today... who'd you expect? this guy ->

http://cincinnati.com/freetime/movie.../zoolander.jpg