Sony "Looking Into" Recent PS3 Hacks

The PlayStation 3’s security has suffered a series of very public comprises recently, first with hacker group fail0verflow (the same group behind the Wii Homebrew Channel) announcing they had discovered the PS3’s security key, then with George “GeoHot” Hotz (partly responsible for jailbreaking the iPhone) releasing the key online for anyone to use — effectively dismantling the PS3’s security completely. Now Sony’s responded to the compromises for the first time.

“We are aware of this, and are currently looking into it,” said a Sony spokesperson to Edge. “We will fix the issues through network updates, but because this is a security issue, we are not able to provide you with any more details.”

One of those details that Sony apparently can’t comment on, though, could be significant: that the problem can’t be fixed through network updates. Since the root key is the core checkpoint that determines whether any software attempting to be played on a PS3 is legitimate, hackers claim changing it runs the risk of making all previously released software unplayable. “The complete console is compromised — there is no way back,” said fail0overflow member “pytey” to the BBC. “The only way to fix this is to issue new hardware. Sony will have to accept this.”