[PS3] PS3 hacked yet again, with PSN access

[IamMedellin]

How poetic is it that less than day after Sony is cleared of almost any wrongdoings in the PSN hack, the PS3 is hacked to bits. In what could only be described as the ultimate hack, the hacking community has released a version of PS3 firmware that can now give modders access to PSN. The catch is that you have to be running firmware version 3.55 or lower to be able to mount this custom firmware. Version 3.6 made it incredibly difficult for anyone to hack the PS3 in its current state. That means we might see a lot more hacked PS3s gaming online, but this isn’t the bad news though…

The bad news is, after this firmware was released free to the public, another team of hackers called the “The Three Tusketeers” have released the LV0 decryption key for the PS3. This means that once the firmware is mounted, hackers can decrypt any new updates that Sony might try to send to the console. Even if Sony tries to change passphrase, hackers can repackage the new updates as ver. 3.55 and run the new features on the hacked console. The Tusketeers had apparently been sitting on this key for some time, but didn’t want to release it before the custom firmware was made public. That way no one would profit from their hard work. So today is a bad day for PlayStation.

http://www.screwattack.com/news/playstation-3-completely-hacked-psn-access
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-ps3-the-final-hack
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/23/rumor-ps3-hacked-yet-again-this-time-it-might-be-for-keeps/

Sony is waking up to a new PlayStation 3 security nightmare after a day in which a brand new, PSN-enabled custom firmware was released for hacked consoles, swiftly followed up by publication of the console's LV0 decryption keys - which some say blows the system wide open.

We've been here before of course. Over two years ago, the first piracy-enabling firmware and USB dongle combo - PSJailbreak was released, which exploited a weakness in the PS3's USB protocols, allowing for the system software to be patched in order to run copied software running from hard disk. This was followed up some time later by the release of tools from hacker group fail0verflow, which allowed users to encrypt files for the system in the same way that Sony does, allowing for a new wave of piracy. Geohot's public release of the "metldr" root key also added to the challenges facing Sony, resulting in a messy legal battle.

The firm's response - firmware 3.60 - plugged many of the holes, neatly working around the entire root key problem, and even with the release of the new custom firmware, any console running system software 3.60 or higher is effectively locked out. Only hacked consoles, or those still running 3.55 or lower can run the new code unless expensive, difficult-to-install hardware downgrade devices are utilised on older hardware.

Despite the effectiveness of firmware 3.60, PS3 has still had to contend with piracy issues, notably the JB2/TrueBlue dongle, but this hack still locked consoles to 3.55 and stopped compromised consoles gaining access to PSN - until recently at least, where the "passphrase" security protocol protecting PSN was leaked, giving hacked consoles full access to the service.

The release of the new custom firmware - and the LV0 decryption keys in particular - poses serious issues. While Sony will almost certainly change the PSN passphrase once again in the upcoming 4.30 update, the reveal of the LV0 key basically means that any system update released by Sony going forward can be decrypted with little or no effort whatsoever. Options Sony has in battling this leak are limited - every PS3 out there needs to be able to decrypt any firmware download package in order for the console to be updated (a 2006 launch PS3 can still update directly to the latest software). The release of the LV0 key allows for that to be achieved on PC, with the CoreOS and XMB files then re-encrypted using the existing 3.55 keys in order to be run on hacked consoles.

So just how did LV0 come to be released at all? The original hackers who first found the master key - calling themselves "The Three Tuskateers" - apparently sat on its discovery for some time. However, the information leaked and ended up being the means by which a new Chinese hacking outfit - dubbed "BlueDiskCFW" planned to charge for and release new custom firmware updates. To stop these people profiteering from their work, the "Muskateers" released the LV0 key and within 24 hours, a free CFW update was released.

"You can be sure that if it wouldn't have been for this leak, this key would never have seen the light of day, only the fear of our work being used by others to make money out of it has forced us to release this now," a statement from the hacker group says.

We have approached Sony for comment.

 

[SethMode]

Fucking hackers man. Just can't leave us alone.

 

[Rudi]

ffs man

 

[krulmichael]

Bring in the 360 fanboys. :facepalm:

 

[Maynard]

the only thing that bothers me about this is the Chinese hacking group BlueDiskCFW...anytime china is into something i worry about the bigger picture. While those commie fucks are doing who knows what and training people on how to hack anything, we are off borrowing trillions from them and teaching our people how to be bigger morons.

aside from that i dont see how this affects the legit users of psn...its not like credit cards were exposed this time. its just pirates getting to play games for free.

 

[padman59]

Now I'm definitely not playing with randoms on Borderlands 2.

 

[SethMode]

the only thing that bothers me about this is the Chinese hacking group BlueDiskCFW...anytime china is into something i worry about the bigger picture. While those commie fucks are doing who knows what and training people on how to hack anything, we are off borrowing trillions from them and teaching our people how to be bigger morons.

aside from that i dont see how this affects the legit users of psn...its not like credit cards were exposed this time. its just pirates getting to play games for free.

While I understand your overall point, pirating affects every gamer.

 

[Maynard]

While I understand your overall point, pirating affects every gamer.

im not sure i agree. i dont see it affecting legit people other than than updates. psn does enough updates so a few more for pirating isnt something we would notice. 360 gives hardly any updates. I dont know why psn does so many and 360 doesnt.

but game pricing has not been affected. the $60 price point has been the same since these next gen consoles came out. PC pirates do hurt the PC community because fewer companies make pc games now...but consoles are different imo

how do you feel it affects every gamer?

 

[SethMode]

im not sure i agree. i dont see it affecting legit people other than than updates. psn does enough updates so a few more for pirating isnt something we would notice. 360 gives hardly any updates. I dont know why psn does so many and 360 doesnt.

but game pricing has not been affected. the $60 price point has been the same since these next gen consoles came out. PC pirates do hurt the PC community because fewer companies make pc games now...but consoles are different imo

how do you feel it affects every gamer?

Basically because it has destroyed the PC gaming market (like you said). They are finding ways to fix that, via Steam, but regardless I don't want to see the console market end up like the PC one, and if pirating becomes easier for console gamers, then one could assume it inevitably will.

And that is ignoring the moral point that pirating is wrong. These guys bust their asses to make new products and when people just steal them, it's fucking wrong. The fact that it creates a bunch of jaded developers that feel less reason to be creative, while important, is really a bi-product of the fact that it's disgusting that people are so okay with literally stealing from someone else and justifying it.

 

[Maynard]

Basically because it has destroyed the PC gaming market (like you said). They are finding ways to fix that, via Steam, but regardless I don't want to see the console market end up like the PC one, and if pirating becomes easier for console gamers, then one could assume it inevitably will.
.

idk, pirating has been around alot longer than this gen. everyone i knew on ps2 had a modded console they bought from canada. they would rent games and use dvd burners to copy them and everyone got a copy. idk if the original xbox was like that, but i think it was so much easier to pirate on ps2 than ps3 simply because the ps3 has much more advanced security and now the discs have their own security too. I dont see the console market going the route of PC because console games and consoles are not easy to pirate for the average user. PC games are basically idiot proof when it comes to pirating.

And that is ignoring the moral point that pirating is wrong. These guys bust their asses to make new products and when people just steal them, it's fucking wrong. The fact that it creates a bunch of jaded developers that feel less reason to be creative, while important, is really a bi-product of the fact that it's disgusting that people are so okay with literally stealing from someone else and justifying it.

this part...its a personal opinion. whats morally right or wrong to one person is not the same for someone else. if its a question of laws...well, everyone decides which laws they choose to break. its not a question of morality when it comes to having an effect on every gamer..imo

 

[SethMode]

idk, pirating has been around alot longer than this gen. everyone i knew on ps2 had a modded console they bought from canada. they would rent games and use dvd burners to copy them and everyone got a copy. idk if the original xbox was like that, but i think it was so much easier to pirate on ps2 than ps3 simply because the ps3 has much more advanced security and now the discs have their own security too. I dont see the console market going the route of PC because console games and consoles are not easy to pirate for the average user. PC games are basically idiot proof when it comes to pirating.



this part...its a personal opinion. whats morally right or wrong to one person is not the same for someone else. if its a question of laws...well, everyone decides which laws they choose to break. its not a question of morality when it comes to having an effect on every gamer..imo

It affects every gamer because it damages the creativity of the designer/developer because they know how easy it is to do, and how many people are willing to do it. How long it has been happening is neither here nor there. Gaming is a young industry that is already feeling the pressure of piracy which is why you see all the sequels that you yourself bitch about. Iteration is cheaper than creating a new IP, and in a world where you have to assume people will pirate, why not iterate? You'll still make money, despite people stealing from you (and you'll certainly make more money than you would off of a new IP).

Which leads me to your latter point. Moral relativism is for douchebags, assholes, and in this case, thieves. Don't sling me this nonsense about how piracy isn't morally wrong. A person either spent their own money, or was given money, to create a product, and people that pirate it are then stealing that product. It's called piracy for a reason. Is it somehow different because you're stealing something from the internet instead of walking into a store and taking something from the shelf? Piracy is stealing. Stealing is morally wrong, regardless of what legal system you're working in.

 

[Villain]

I understand the piracy worries, but the PS4 is just around the corner. I wouldn't worry too much about this one.

 

[EmpireWF]

So what's all this mean? Download the update on PSN and alls cool?

 

[SethMode]

I understand the piracy worries, but the PS4 is just around the corner. I wouldn't worry too much about this one.

Not to beat a dead horse here but, if you get the piracy worry, why would you think that PS4 being around the corner would fix it?

 

[Villain]

Not to beat a dead horse here but, if you get the piracy worry, why would you think that PS4 being around the corner would fix it?

Entirely different system with an entirely different puzzle for the hackers to need to solve. If this had happened in the first or second year of the PS3s lifespan then maybe it might've been a bigger blow. Sony has already made their money from the PS3, it's on its way out now.

 

[Twigg4075]

the only thing that bothers me about this is the Chinese hacking group BlueDiskCFW...anytime china is into something i worry about the bigger picture. While those commie fucks are doing who knows what and training people on how to hack anything, we are off borrowing trillions from them and teaching our people how to be bigger morons.

aside from that i dont see how this affects the legit users of psn...its not like credit cards were exposed this time. its just pirates getting to play games for free.

I agree. While this sucks major balls, it doesn't directly effect me so... If it just means a bunch of cheaters can play online? What's new?

 

[SethMode]

Entirely different system with an entirely different puzzle for the hackers to need to solve. If this had happened in the first or second year of the PS3s lifespan then maybe it might've been a bigger blow. Sony has already made their money from the PS3, it's on its way out now.

This isn't about the "blow" to Sony though. I'm not sure where the disconnect is here. Piracy is bad and I don't see why a new system would mean less piracy, and if you get that, I don't see why the PS4 is relevant. The piracy on the PS3 is every bit as relevant as the sales on the PS3 to Sony when it comes to the PS4.

 

[padman59]

So what's all this mean? Download the update on PSN and alls cool?

No. According to the articles, the decryption keys that were compromised would allow for new firmware updates to be cracked eventually.

 

[Twigg4075]

Piracy in the video games world is the worst. If these clowns would put half the effort they do into pirating into something productive, like game design maybe, this world would be a much better place.

 

[Derrville]

Id care if my 2nd PS3 in 2 months wasnt dead and awaiting repairs.