Oh, Sony.  You just can't seem to catch a break this generation.  Two years ago you suffered through a USB-related jailbreak controversy which allowed users to copy PS3 games directly onto a hard drive.  Last year you suffered a massive network failure as your PSN was infiltrated and millions of users’ personal information was stolen, causing a month long outage that had everyone crying foul.  And now, this latest development may be the coup de grace of them all.

This week a new set of custom Playstation 3 firmware was released for hacked systems.  This is not unusual for any system this late into its life span but what makes this different is what was released alongside them: system decryption keys.  Called the LV0 decryption key, it allows Sony to push updates to every single PS3 ever made using a passphrase.  However, with this key now in the open, any previous, current and future Playstation 3 firmware can be decrypted and circumvented fairly easily.

The publication of this key comes at the hands of a hacker group known as “The Three Tuskateers” who discovered it a while back.  However, the information about the key was leaked to a Chinese hacker group called “BlueDiskCFW” which planned to use the key to sell custom firmware for the PS3.  The Three Tuskateers, learning of BlueDiskCFW’s plans, decided to release the key publically to prevent them from profiting off of it, saying in a statement that, had it not been for the information leak, “this key would never have seen the light of day.”

This poses a serious problem for Sony, though the consumer-side implications don’t seem necessarily clear at this point.  The publication of the LV0 decryption key will allow anyone to install custom firmware and access the Playstation Network.  It will also allow users to search out and utilize exploitable issues in officially released firmware updates.  Worse still for them, the decryption key can’t simply be replaced in a patch or firmware update.  It is hardwired into the system and would require a revision of the system’s hardware.  Considering that Sony just released a super slim version of the system and that the user probably won’t buy a new version this close to the next generation, I think it’s fair to say that we won’t see a hardware solution for Sony.

What seems certain to myself though is that the Playstation 3 just became the number one pirating and homebrew destination this generation.  Sony doesn’t seem to have reacted to the release just yet but let’s just hope it isn’t another kneejerk reaction like what happened back in April 2011.

Comments

  • MilkyAlien Avatar
    MilkyAlien
    11 years, 5 months ago

    Fresh off the Halo 4 leak it seems we might be seeing the same leaks from the PS3 now. Honestly I don't see the positive to this even though I am not anti-hacking by any means. It all just feels a bit sleazy.

  • Avatar
    CommanderZx2
    11 years, 5 months ago

    Now might be a good time to announce a PS4 and put these issues in the past?

  • crossoutlaw Avatar
    crossoutlaw
    11 years, 5 months ago

    can we get to the next generation with the all digital future now? all im waiting for is that google internet and im on board

  • Avatar
    Risos
    11 years, 5 months ago

    And now we sit and wait for some kind of cydia-like program to appear on the PS3. It's a shame that geohot's old exploit didn't stay around for a long time, I quite enjoyed playing SNES games on my PS3. That being said, fingers crossed this puts some life back into the PS3 before the next gen comes.

  • Avatar
    Rorix
    11 years, 5 months ago

    What's the source on this? This is the first I've heard of it and I haven't seen it reported elsewhere.

  • Avatar
    SonicKitsune
    11 years, 5 months ago

    This is what happens on pretty much any "closed" system. You get everyone trying to see who can open it up first. See any Apple product and the long-standing Wii and PSP hacks which have yet to be addressed any further.

  • Moom Avatar
    Moom
    11 years, 5 months ago

    When the PS3 first came out didn't people claim it was "un-hackable"? Well its been a while so can't say I'm not surprised.

  • Avatar
    VagrantHige
    11 years, 5 months ago

    None of this really was of any concern until Sony closed off their own system by removing the OS change the original PS3 had. It wasn't until then that anyone made any effort to circumvent them. I have a PS3 and I love it but they brought a lot of it on themselves.