PS3 now perma-hacked...

[ricosuave]

http://psgroove.com/content.php?598-...#ixzz19wjYmr4K

[Buzzard]

Care to translate that for the ignorant Rico?

Can I still watch Planet Earth in all its 1080p glory??

[Roast Beef]

They have discovered the encryption keys used by the PS3 that verifies if program code is allowed to run on the system. With these keys they can "sign" any code they want and have it execute on the PS3. No mods or hacks will be needed since the code will be signed with a legitimate key. This means that every PS3 on the market will be able to run homebrew or pirated software with no system modifications or other usb dongle trickery since the PS3 will see it as legitimate authorized code. This opens the door to custom firmware, Linux with no hypervisor restrictions and a host of other uses.

According to what I have read, this security flaw is unpatchable. The only way for Sony to fix this is to revoke the encryption key. That however, would have the unfortunate side effect of rendering every piece of software on the market unplayable.

As a side note, while they were digging around and finding the keys to the PS3, they found the encryption keys to the PSP as well. The security on both of Sony's systems has been rendered moot.

[photon]

And it was a bad implementation from what I understand, where what was supposed to be a randomly generated seed was actually generating the same seed over and over, and that allowed them to derive the key (or something).

It's also interesting that cracking the PS3 happened pretty quickly after Sony removed the ability to run 3rd party software.

There is a middle ground, they could conceivably revoke the key but have a whitelist for all the existing code.. Of course that can still be circumvented with a custom firmware upgrade, but flashing with custom firmware to keep your system cracked isn't something most people will do, so I could see Sony trying the whitelist path, though there's got to be enough games and packages and stuff out there to make that a nightmare.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by Roast Beef

As a side note, while they were digging around and finding the keys to the PS3, they found the encryption keys to the PSP as well. The security on both of Sony's systems has been rendered moot.

Hmmm, seeing bump in PSP GO sales in the near term?

[Flash Walken]

I remember saying it at the time, but removing the ability to run third-party software was a huge mistake, for precisely this reason.

[WilsonFourTwo]

I am sooooooo happy with this news!

[Roast Beef]

Originally Posted by chemgear

Hmmm, seeing bump in PSP GO sales in the near term?

I don't know about a PSP Go, but I do see a multi-gigabyte memory stick for my PSP-3000 in the near future.

[nickerjones]

so what exactly are some things you can do on a hacked ps3

[FlameOn]

Everything now. With signed keys anything that sony can possibly put out, homebrew developers can do. New media players (something like the XBMC), browers replacements, new codec support (native without something like a media streamer), emulators for other systems, etc. Sky is the limit. Of course this also means one thing, we're going to see a lot more pirating soon since all the locks have been kicked in.

It's ironic that the best copy protection that the PS3 had was the ability and support for people to tinker in linux. Sony really screwed up by not realizing army of pissed off nerds > paid engineers.

[Rathji]

I agree that removing linux is what spurred this.

I wonder if they will realize/admit they pretty much caused this themselves and change their way of thinking on 3rd party stuff in the future.

[FlameOn]

If its one thing I've come to realize is that large corporations all tend to have the same inflexible culture. Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and especially Apple will fight tooth and nail to protect a platform and sometimes broken business model because they refuse to change. Instead of allowing 3rd parties to develop and potentially make some money for the company they would rather criminalize legit development work.

Result is the legit developers have to get around the security on their own and in most cases this will also lead to piracy.

[Jimmy Stang]

Maybe soon I'll be able to use a browser that actually works properly. Being able to run Firefox or Chrome on the PS3 would open up a whole lot of web video that is currently pretty cumbersome to view.

[Mighty Tytan]

i.am.confused.

why not just play the games that are for sale and be happy?

anyhow, guess i am not techy enough, cuz i have no idea what this means in laymens, out of the box, just got it for xmas type of world.

[Superflyer]

Originally Posted by Mighty Tytan

i.am.confused.

why not just play the games that are for sale and be happy?

anyhow, guess i am not techy enough, cuz i have no idea what this means in laymens, out of the box, just got it for xmas type of world.

Same reason that people will download a song from a torrent instead of paying 99 cents for it. Now it is download a game instead of paying $60-70 for the game

[Russic]

Originally Posted by Mighty Tytan

i.am.confused.

why not just play the games that are for sale and be happy?

anyhow, guess i am not techy enough, cuz i have no idea what this means in laymens, out of the box, just got it for xmas type of world.

Because many can play the games for free and also be happy. In my eyes the best defense against pirating games is having games that are 40, 50 or 60 gigs in size. I'm thinking about the best way to go about downloading something of that size in a way that isn't a massive pain in the ass and I can't really. I suppose you could strip the game down and cut out the cutscenes and stuff ... but that's not a road too many will be happy to take.

Aside from games, people like having control over their entertainment experience.

[WilsonFourTwo]

It's strange, but I do not care AT ALL about the potential ability to pirate games.

The three things I'm looking forward to are:

1. The ability to refresh the list of files available from my PC whenever I add/remove some.
2. Improving the streaming capabilities so that a 700MB avi doesn't stutter like hell.
3. Improved web browser.

Basically the key reasons I'm thrilled that Sony's security has been bypassed are not so that I can steal, but so that 3rd party developers can fix known limitations/mistakes that Sony won't. LOVELY DAY! Woot!

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

Everything now. With signed keys anything that sony can possibly put out, homebrew developers can do. New media players (something like the XBMC), browers replacements, new codec support (native without something like a media streamer), emulators for other systems, etc. Sky is the limit. Of course this also means one thing, we're going to see a lot more pirating soon since all the locks have been kicked in.

It's ironic that the best copy protection that the PS3 had was the ability and support for people to tinker in linux. Sony really screwed up by not realizing army of pissed off nerds > paid engineers.

When can I get my nand flash fixed

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Mighty Tytan

i.am.confused.

why not just play the games that are for sale and be happy?

anyhow, guess i am not techy enough, cuz i have no idea what this means in laymens, out of the box, just got it for xmas type of world.

Because many people do not want good technology wasted simply on the consumer games publishers market to them. They want to make their own games, they want them to be media servers, and they want to run other operating systems on it. Heck, the US Navy has thousands of PS3s that run Linux.

[kevman]

How might this affect me if I have no desire to tinker with my PS3? Ie, What security measures could Sony try to take (new firmwares, etc.) that could get in the way with me playing my legitimate games and blu-rays?