"Unhackable" PlayStation 3 Hacked by George Hotz

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Renowned iPhone jailbreaker George Hotz has told the world that he managed to hack the only gaming console that hasn’t been cracked until now, Sony’s “unhackable” Playstation 3, in less than 5 weeks. GeoHot took three weeks to analyze what’s under the plastic wrapping and another two weeks to actually break the console, which is now capable of playing either older PS2 games, PS3 pirated games or homemade software.

I have read/write access to the entire system memory, and HV level access to the processor. In other words, I have hacked the PS3. The rest is just software. And reversing. I have a lot of reversing ahead of me, as I now have dumps of LV0 and LV1. I’ve also dumped the NAND without removing it or a modchip.

George Hotz told the BBC (fully credited below) that he’s not yet ready to disclose any details about the hack — which by the way doesn’t hack the whole system. He did however mentioned the fact that the PS3 is a “very secure system” and that his crack, which is”5% hardware and 95% software” fools the console by injecting a hardware vulnerability that he later exploits.

“It’s supposed to be unhackable – but nothing is unhackable. 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,” Hotz has told the BBC.

More interestingly is that Hotz got inside the PlayStation 3 just because he was curious to know what the platform is all about.

Looks like it’s not only Apple trying to get a hold of George. Sony may want a word with the guy, too!

Meanwhile expect GeoHot to release the details of the console’s “root key”, probably here.