PS3 piracy fans are rejoicing at the news that the “LV0” PS3 encryption keys have been leaked, allowing the console to be fully and irreversibly hacked for good.
The keys will likely allow full custom firmware access, alternative OS support, and the possibility of rolling back the more recent firmware versions, which were formerly all but unhackable.
The release of the keys will likely also lead to a resumption of widespread PS3 piracy, assuming PS3 hackers can get past the back-biting, squabbling and money-grubbing which seems to have done as much to prevent PS3 piracy as any of of Sony’s lawyers and engineers.
Some expert analysis:
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.
Of course, with the PS3 all but obsolete, the PS4 presumably just on the horizon and the PS3 having enjoyed the status of being probably the most piracy-free platform in gaming history, it seems likely Sony had good cause to declare victory years ago.
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"That escalated quickly."
Seriously though, it was only a matter of time. Maybe now Sony can just give up and stop giving their customers such a hard time; people who pirate games wouldn't have bought them in the first place.
not true
i know for sure that i wouldn't have bought certain games if i hadn't had tzhe chance to play them before
But that's because you quickly discovered the game in question was a huge steaming pile of shit. Had you known they were shit, you never would have purchased them.
Bunch of damn cheap bastards. Get a job you lazy bums who hack / to cheap to buy games. kthxbye. U MAD?
no, but you are.
Pretty much all the effort they put in keeping the hardware locked down would have been better spent on making PSN more secure,getting more game developers. and offering better services.
Some interesting news the PS4 likely would be much easier to crack since it's reported to just be modified X86 PC hardware.
Kinda a shame as the Cell processor was and still is an amazing piece of hardware.
Of course the leaked PS4 specs could be FUD.
MS is going through the effort to make 16 core PPC which should be a real beast of a chip that would make an i7 quad core look slow.
I doubt hardware designers could have done much to improve web services.
"Heck an India out sourcing company could have done a better job."
and that just about sums up the cause of the global economic crisis...
No I'm talking the software and sever side of things.
Heck an India out sourcing company could have done a better job.
They could have made the PSN more secure "I'll never use a credit card directly with any kind of Sony account as they have lost my trust." ,they could have got a better media player ,and a browser that's is not an abortion etc.
Really would it have been so hard to port Firefox over wait the open source community did before they got shafted.
This also prevented a massive pool of programming talent from developing for the platform.
Then they did outright stupid ass stuff that is illegal in my country such as killing other OS because of paranoia.
No other OS crippled the device as a media center.
No amount of DLC can replace the functionality that was lost.
They could have required a signed kernel or something or detected pirated games server side.
Then simply not allow any pirated copy of game to join in online games or get any DLC.
In short even a five year old could have made more sane decisions then their execs.
What did sony do use the wep for wireless method?
I doubt it, but console CPU's have always been significantly better at specific tasks though given the fact that they usually don't have very powerful dedicated gpu's like the average gaming PC
Bullshit. Console CPUs are usually standard off-the-shelf embeded CPUs or slight variations of them.
You can easily purchase such a CPU from the manufacturer, although you can't really do much with it without extensive knowledge of designing embedded systems.
'Pretty much all the effort they put in keeping the hardware locked down would have been better spent on making PSN more secure,getting more game developers. and offering better services.'
Only that, if they don't try to implement some kind of security measure, even if it's just shoved in at the eleventh hour, they'd have trouble explaining to shareholders on what the hell are they planning to stop piracy this time.
It's stupid, yes I know, but you have to be aware that more of those big money investors are still old, ignorant corporate thugs who probably think that Internet is a series of tubes.
I've purchased many games, and played them so much that the discs got scratched beyond use. I'm not gonna go out and buy it again when I already paid for it!
If your discs are getting scratches just from normal, if extended use, then you're doing something terribly wrong.
The hell are you doing? Using them as Frisbees?
wtf? XD
If the "expert analysis" sarcasm???
Its obvious eurogamer "journalists" are anything but that.
Eurogamer should never be taken seriously.
In fact, they should be sacked for being connected with the PS3 hackers. They were 1st to report and expose the hack, meaning they were involved pretty deep.
I mean, among all the places you could have first heard of the hack, such as some websites dedicated to pirated material, you heard it from EUROGAMER.
I long for the day when Eurogamer gets treated like Gamespot and IGN, nothing good comes from them and developers only suffer lost sales and hate.
At least EG has Digital Foundry, which is really the only reason to visit their site.
developers only suffer lost sales and hate.
and thats exactly what they deserve
@ 06:33
See what your journalistic actions can do.
Go read what anon 00:41 said.
06:33 Actually you don't, because you're a hack who can't find a real job. The only thing worse than you are those idiotic "journalists" working for ANN.
Just a bunch of overgrown babies with no real job experience, their parent's bank account & an unrealistic sense of entitlement.
Which is exactly why they can only find work as a professional blogger, claiming to be a journalist.
please die in a fire. we deserve to have a job just like any other person
ehh.. ps3 graphics were getting outdated by pc graphics anyways.. sony needs a new playstation to stay in the lead technologically
PC graphics are ALWAYS better than console graphics, PERIOD......
Stating fact isn't whining.
It has been kinda nice being able to play new games on 6+ year old pcs (the games that get optimised anyway) thanks to consoles holding everything back.
The graphics are kinda ok where they are now on pc can we just put all of that effort into gameplay/bugtesting/story please?
Seriously. STOP. WHINING. Some people will always prefer either PC or Consoles so stop bitching whenever someone from the other side of the aisle states their opinion. It just proves that you're a whiny little bitch.
@4:02
just saying when you spend so much money on a computer, it better have better graphics rendering than a cheap $300 console. fck, I'm waiting till they come out with a bigger standard than 1080p so I can actually see what framerate loss looks like.
not to mention PC versions of a lot of games have the ability to be modded by the players.
*cough* skyrim-morrowind-oblivion *cough*
I thought it was funny that the PS3 got hacked with Sony trying too hard to stop piracy.
Oh Karma, you are so ironic.
you make no sense. it's not an option to not secure platforms and networks. i bet you don't leave you doors and networks open and hope nobody steals your property, nor would anyone lend you anything in such a situation. get real bro
I think his point was that they called all kinds of attention to themselves by making all kinds of bad decisions in the name of anti-piracy, and then ended up getting completely shafted for said decisions despite trying so hard.
Yes, which is why the were stupidly and blindly butthurt with the previous hack and went WRONGLY in a suing rampage.
This is also ARGUABLY why Sony LOST the current generation console WAR.
To me it looks like MS and Nintendo were ultimately more intelligent, they were hacked very early and as result everyone was happy, yes everyone, all parties benefited from that ARGUABLY (it all point to it) and they both enjoyed tremendous success.
Who would have thought ALMIGHTY SONY with its PS1 and PS2 utter and complete dominance would lose this badly? Only thing I see different is the constant insult to customers, taking away features, lack of rpgs that dominated previous consoles and suing people and more importantly unhackable console for year and then some more which was a huge turn off to many, even those that do buy game.
"lose badly"
What..?
In Japan they fucking slaughtered microsoft then raped their corpse.
In the west they really didn't give a fuck and still did well enough....
Winning in one country while getting their asses handed to them in the rest of the world yah that's real success.
The US market alone is over twice the size of japan's
So yes they were very upset over loosing outside of Japan which is why the PS4 is probably going to be one of the most conservatively speced of the next generation consoles ie something they'll make a profit on vs sell as a lead loss item.
@23:57 24/10/2012
Sorry pal but 02:13 25/10/2012 is right, THIS IS NOT ANIME! MANGA EROGE HENTAI PAL
Tiny Japanese market in the gaming inudstry cannot hope to match overseas customer base.
Unlike anime/manga GAMES are NOT A NICHE market.
SO YES; OUTSIDE MARKET MATTERS!
"Winning in one country while getting their asses handed to them in the rest of the world yah that's real success."
I know what you mena, man, M$ only outsells Sony in the the US, and although it's the biggest video game market and makes it up for the lossses everywhere else it still can't be called a success, just just lack of ability at making something not aimed for the yankees. The same mistake most japanese game developers make, by the way...
@21:11
actually, on a side note, japanese imports outsell domestics, simply because of gas economy.
lol no one cares about Japan anymore. From labor to cars to video games, they no longer hold any market value.
"To me it looks like MS and Nintendo were ultimately more intelligent, they were hacked very early and as result everyone was happy, yes everyone, all parties benefited from that ARGUABLY (it all point to it) and they both enjoyed tremendous success."
hah... and i wonder why the economics are going down
M$ is even worse on hackers than Sony. Sony tries to prevent hackers just like M$, but ONLY M$ actually punishes users if they are caught (permabanning gamertags and consoles). Way more harsh.
And I'm pretty sure M$ and Nintendo don't encourage hacking their consoles.
I will admit in someways Sony is is a less of a dick then Microsoft who makes you buy XBL gold just to use things that should be free like youtube and netflix as these are not on their servers and cost them nothing.
But killing other OS was spectacular show of back stabbing behavior and the moron who made that decision should have been forced to step down.
Really he should kill himself.
Also it was very sloppy how they ran the PSN with zero security updates.
They wasted all their effort in keeping the console locked down vs protecting their paying customers.
15:23 You think MS is worse than Sony? LOL You clearly were not around when Sony royally BUTTFUCKED davesclassics, for hosting the PS1 BIOS image. Nor were you paying much attention to Geohot vs Sony.
Meanwhile in MS camp, MS can track & punish users of pirated copies Windows & Office, yet opts not to. Nor have they pursued legal action against C4E and other 360 hackers.
What?
Yes MS has hacked consoles but it still sells more software than the ps3 so maybe Sony should have just let things go.
Oh and 10% behind MS is huge considering Sony killed the competitors for two generations. Things will only be bleaker next generation unless they get their act together because now developers will instantly back the more successful xbox.
@07:48 Also lets not forget Sony Pictures & Sony Music Entertainment, which both back MPAA & RIAA. Banning a bunch of consoles from Live pales in comparison to having your future destroyed for downloading a 99cent song.
@16:06 Which region are you referring to? In Southern Europe and South America Sony's PS3 sells way more than the 360. The same goes for Asia.
There's about a 10% difference between global PS3 and global 360 sales. I wouldn't say that constitutes losing to an embarrassing degree.
Console sales are meaningless. Only game sales count.
Thanks to the leak I'm now considering buying a PS3.
Are you saying Microsoft aren't making huge loses of money on the Xbox30?
Hahaha, fanboys.
07:31 oops, Japan should say lead to PS3
360's inability to gain market in Japan really hurt sales figures, take away Japanese sales figures and 360 would be ahead by a significant number. As it stands, their total sales figures are very close and of course both get their ass handed to them by EVERYTHING Nintendo.
global sales
360 68.9million
PS3 67.2million
---
1.7million lead to 360
US sales
360 38.7million
PS3 24.1million
---
14.6million lead to 360
Japan sales
360 1.5million
PS3 8.6million
---
7.1million lead to 360
Europe sales
360 21.8million
PS3 26.4million
---
4.6million lead to PS3
source: vgchartz
Yes, and whats the common denominator?
Ps1 + Ps2 were hacked early, everyone bought the console = HUUUGE fanbase = LOTS OF SALES, PS1 + PS2 dominated LIKE A GOD!
Now, PS3 tight in security, no hacks = little fanbase = little sotware sales = this gen loser, WORLWIDE behind Nintendo and MS
Look at 360 + Wii: Hacked early = HUUUGE fanbase = LOTS of Software sales! BUG WINNERS! This gen
Add the fact that PS1 PS2 and now WIII had emulators to compete with also and really THE PIRACY claims dont MATCH UP!
If anything PIRACY IS THE GREATEST AND BEST MARKETING AND PRONOMINAL TOTALLY FREE TOOL EVER!
Sony went from having a huge lead in console market share (well over 50%, I would like to think) for two generations to barely catching up to Microsoft's Xbox 360 this generation. Add in the amount of MONEY they've lost on the damn thing and yes, it's pretty goddamn embarrassing.
You want to like PS3 more, fine, that's pretty reasonable, but don't pretend they didn't fuck up with it compared to their massive success during the previous two generations.