PS3 Uncrackable, Hacker Gives Up

[Tech Star]

The well-known iPhone Hacker George Hotz (geohot) has procured some time ago, access to the PS3 system and a large part of the security mechanisms bypassed the console. The well-known iPhone Hacker George Hotz (geohot) has procured some time ago, access to the PS3 system and a large part of the security mechanisms bypassed the console. Sony responded responded on a Sony 1 April of this fact and published a new firmware update, because of security concerns, the installation does not allow for an alternative operating system (we reported). April of this fact and published a new firmware update, because of security concerns, the installation does not permit more of an alternative operating system (as reported).

Now, the hacker known on Twitter announced his resignation from the scene. His departure was kept relatively short text:

"It was a cool ride, and I learned a lot. Maybe I'll do in the next few days, a formal goodbye."

Then geohot wrote his motives for hacking various entertainment devices. He evaded, for example, the security mechanisms of the iPhone out of pure boredom and said from the way that some people took the whole thing far too seriously - it is after all only a phone and having fun because he had no more.

News Source: PS3 Inside

Looks like he quit. His blog is private now and he deleted his twitter.

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

I seen his post on Twitter.. saying follow this guy from now on.. so I asked him if he is retiring, and he never replied. I'm shocked to see him delete his twitter.

see here:

[matthewmarley]

Who is the guy he said to follow ?

[CentralDogma]

Well, this raises an interesting question. The PS3 was released almost 4 years ago. To date, the security of the console has not been breached (at least not fully).

Is the PS3 unhackable?

Now it?s easy to say that ?nothing is completely secure? and, it?s true, the advantage always goes to the attacked in console hacking, but I think Sony may have found a winning formula to prevent hacking:

• Adopting Blu-ray early on meant media was expensive for most of its life cycle.
  
• Allowing Linux in a secure sandbox kept most legitimate hackers content.
  
• High hardware prices early in its lifecycle meant.
  
• A legitimately securely built system.
  

Some of these things are changing and it may make hackers look twice at the PS3, but it could be too late. The PS4 might be out we see the PS3 opened up.

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

Who is the guy he said to follow ?

http://twitter.com/mikecohenn

This guy.

[Tech Star]

Read this on Gaf:

Geohot was the first hacker REMOVING working homebrew from a device :laugh:

:laugh: I thought it was funny. Lot's of hate for this guy.

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

It seems it has been the PS3 which cracked the hacker, and not the hacker the PS3 – the major force behind cracking the PS3 has given up and retired in circumstances few could help but interpret as an abject admission of defeat at the hands of Sony engineers.

Obnoxious celebrity cracker Geohotz has “retired” from hacking rather than face the shame of defeat it would appear – far from delivering an update in his famed battle with the PS3 firmware, instead all he delivered was a terse notice of resignation and some bitter whining about people “taking this way too seriously”:

“It was a cool ride, and I’ve learned a lot about a lot. Perhaps one of these days I’ll do a more formal goodbye.”

With the PS3 still completely unhacked halfway through its lifespan, and any crack likely still years in the making, it seems any eventual hacking will be too late to make much difference – quite the coup for Sony.

The credibility of Geohotz was already at an all time low after he admitted distributed a fake picture suggesting he had hacked the iPhone 4, as he did so successfully to the former model – little wonder he felt the need to retire:

I didn’t fully realize most of the current scene don’t care unless they are getting something. Now I do. It’s late tonight, I’ll think about what to do about this in the morning.

The real reason behind no release isn’t technical. It’s just that it will never stop, after blackra1n, people demand unlock, after blacksn0w, people demand untethered. I miss the days when jailbreaking and unlocking were difficult, it attracted a much higher caliber crowd.

Also, to the haters, the picture is quite obviously fake.

Apparently he is far more obtuse than he is usually given credit for – it seems self-evident that the only reason his fans care about his antics is the opportunity for piracy it offers them.

Or else this is merely a crude attempt to deflect attention away from two abject failures in a row, coming on the heels of some typically egotistical hacker posing which led his followers to believe it was merely a matter of time before they were happily downloading “backup” Blu-ray ISOs for their freshly cracked PS3s…

Sauce [Link contains NSFW content]

Sauce 2

[TurboTuna]

He also quit the jailbreaking scene. I don't think its him giving up, i think its more him being annoyed with punk kids messaging him every day going "omfgz. i needz teh h4x man. hurry up!!11!1one"

[Guest]

Fair play to the Sony engineers. I would have expected the Xbox to be harder to crack seen that Microsoft are a software company and Sony focus mainly on hardware.

[c3ntury]

There goes the hopes of Limera1n being released.

[agreenbhm]

Obnoxious celebrity cracker

QFT.

I won't miss reading about his immature antics on the tech blogs. I give props where they are due; he's a talented hacker. However, he always struck me as an a-hole.

[ApuBo]

i bet there's other peeps trying to hack PS3, (i mean it cant be uncrackable, its matter of time before someone did)

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

What ever happened to DarK AleX?

He was a champion at PSP hacking, if anyone could crack the PS3, i'm sure it would be him.

[episode]

He also quit the jailbreaking scene. I don't think its him giving up, i think its more him being annoyed with punk kids messaging him every day going "omfgz. i needz teh h4x man. hurry up!!11!1one"

He's a punk kid, too, you know.

[TurboTuna]

He's a punk kid, too, you know.

Well aware of that, and he showed it with my "look what I can do. you cant have it" attitude. As mentioned, he had some skills though.

[Vice]

In the 2nd source it lists some of his achievements

• First hacker to jailbreak / unlock iPhone 2G
• Discovered AT + stkprof command vulnerability which was later used in Yellowsn0w by Dev team to unlock iPhone 3G firmware 2.2
• First one to discover iPhone 3G bootloader 5.8 exploits that allows baseband downgrading
• First public software exploit for jailbreaking the iPhone 3GS (with Purplera1n and Purplesn0w)
• First Untethered Jailbreak and unlock for iPhone 3GS firmware 3.1 .2 (with Blackra1n and Blacksn0w)

Quite a list really.

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

Credit where credit is due, he is a good hacker.

[+Warwagon MVC]

Must be why I don't have any games for my PS3 :laugh:

That and the fact I gave it to my parents to use as a blu ray player.

[ahmz]

Does anyone else think that Sony may have shipped more PS3s if it were as easily hackable as the 360?

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

Does anyone else think that Sony may have shipped more PS3s if it were as easily hackable as the 360?

Yes, but then again they would also sell more if they made backwards comparability available to PSN Plus users too.

[Singh400]

He hasn't given up in my opinion. He has more than proven he has the skills needed countless times, it is that just he got bored.

Plus if he did crack the PS3, I'm pretty sure Sony would do something about it (go after him?).

Of course the plus point is devs can't moan about apparent piracy for the games on the PS3. If it isn't selling well, then it down right sucks.

[still1]

:(

[Solid Knight]

He probably got burnt out trying to hack it.

[Rudy]

What a drama queen :rolleyes:

[+Mystic MVC]

Fair play to the Sony engineers. I would have expected the Xbox to be harder to crack seen that Microsoft are a software company and Sony focus mainly on hardware.

I look at it in a slightly different way. He has to go about hacking the PS3's kernel itself which is substantially harder than a DVD firmware exploit used on the 360. As I say that, I must be careful not to forget the whole "Jtagged" 360 scene which recently started taking off even though it's an albeit very very small amount of 360 owners.