Two more months and Sony (SNE) would have made it through the entire year without any drama involving hackers trying to crack its console security or bring down its PlayStation Network. According to Eurogamer, the PlayStation 3’s security has been breached by a hacker group called “The Three Tuskateers.” The hackers reportedly discovered the console’s “LV0” firmware decryption keys and were forced to leak it out for free after another Chinese hacking crew called the “BlueDiskCFW” planned to profit off their work. In layman’s terms, the LV0 keys allow hackers to easily decrypt any PS3 firmware, meaning any patches Sony adds could easily be circumvented.
The Three Tuskateers said they had never intended to release their findings on breaching the PS3 if not for other hackers wanting to make a quick a buck. A custom firmware for the PS3 is now reportedly circulating the Internet, which should allow for all sorts of unsigned code to run on it, including homebrew, cheats and even piracy. It’s currently unclear if this is the “final” PS3 hack that will doom the PlayStation 3 to potential piracy or not.
