Hacker Breaks Into Sony's PlayStation 3
Sony's PlayStation 3 has reportedly been hacked - by the technical wizard who cracked the iPhone.
George Hotz, 20, claims he has worked out how to access the console's memory and central processor.
This could allow PlayStation 3 owners to run unauthorised software, play older PS 2 games, or install a different operating system.
The PlayStation officially only runs software licensed by Sony.
Hotz claims it took him just five weeks to hack it using "very simple hardware" and "some not so simple software".
Posting a running commentary on his website a few weeks ago, he revealed he was getting close to cracking the console.
"I already know more about the cell processor then I ever wanted to," he wrote.
Then last week he announced a breakthrough: "Glitching the memory bus like a savage with a screwdriver is going to work."
George Hotz, 20, claims he has worked out how to access the console's memory and central processor.
This could allow PlayStation 3 owners to run unauthorised software, play older PS 2 games, or install a different operating system.
The PlayStation officially only runs software licensed by Sony.
Hotz claims it took him just five weeks to hack it using "very simple hardware" and "some not so simple software".
Posting a running commentary on his website a few weeks ago, he revealed he was getting close to cracking the console.
"I already know more about the cell processor then I ever wanted to," he wrote.
Then last week he announced a breakthrough: "Glitching the memory bus like a savage with a screwdriver is going to work."
When he finally cracked the console, he tweeted the result.
But other hackers keen to exploit his work will have to wait a while because Hotz is refusing to release the code just yet.
He said on his website: "As far as the exploit goes, I'm not revealing it yet. Also, for obvious reasons I can't post dumps.
"I'm hoping to find the decryption keys and post them, but they may be embedded in hardware."
The PlayStation 3 was regarded as being almost unhackable.
Hotz received notoriety in 2007 when he revealed he had unlocked the hardware of Apple's iPhone with "some complicated soldering".
This hack allowed the phone to be used on any other phone network.
A spokesman from Sony said: "We are investigating the report and will clarify the situation once we have more information."
Source: Skynews