Rumor: Custom Firmware ‘Rebug’ Could Be To Blame For PSN Outage [Rumors Say New CFW 'Rebug' Allows Hackers To Steal PSN Games, Sony Shut Down PSN In Order To Tighten Up Security & Halt Theft]

Posted on TFTS by Eric Abent on Monday, 25. April 2011 under: Computer/Console Gaming

As many disgruntled PS3 owners likely already know, the PSN outage is deep into it’s sixth day, with Sony still not offering many details on why PSN is down or when we can expect it back up. Yes, they said over the weekend that PSN would be back up on Monday or Tuesday, but we’re aware that it probably won’t be Monday, and if these new rumors are true, it might be a while longer before you get to play Mortal Kombat or Portal 2 over PSN.

According to chesh420, a moderator at PSX-Scene.com, the reason PSN is down is because of a new custom firmware called “Codename: Rebug” that is causing Sony a number of headaches. In a post on Reddit, chesh explains that Rebug basically turns a user’s PS3 into a dev console, allowing those with a modded console and little patience to once again access PSN through the dev network.

But being able to hop on PSN again isn’t the only perk of installing this CFW on your PS3, as it also allows you to provide fake credit card information and stuff your virtual wallet as if the credit card info was real and verified. How can someone do that? Since the transactions occur over PSN’s dev network, to which access is normally very restricted, the credit card information entered is never verified, allowing those with the CFW installed to essentially steal as many PSN titles as their hard drive space will allow.

This, obviously, is a huge problem, so Sony has taken down PSN while they double up their security and make sure their dev networks and PSN in general become restricted to those with a modded console once again. While this PSN outage may be a pain for those who use their PS3 frequently (or more than once a week, at this point), chesh assures everyone in his post that no one’s account information has been made available to those who use this hack, at least not yet.

Remember though, even though chesh seems to make a lot of sense with his argument and the evidence he presents to back it up, this is still a rumor, and with Sony not specifically confirming what the cause for the outage is, you should definitely take this with a grain of salt. If these rumors are true, though, then PSN could be down for a lot longer than any of us initially thought.

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