It is real. More or less 4 years after its launch, the PlayStation 3's much vaunted security has finally been completely and unequivocally compromised. Within weeks, or even days, PS3 users ready to pay an exorbitant premium have the choice of copying each and every games they own - and any they don't - onto hard disk, and nothing stops them from spreading them over the internet. The question is, how does Sony fight back? Can new firmware updates keep the platform holder one step ahead of the hackers?
As sample "PS Samurai" hardware circulates around shops and modship suppliers around the world, further details emerge, giving us some prospect of how the system works. From that we can extrapolate the size of the task facing Sony because it embarks on what must surely be the biggest damage limitation exercise in its recent history. This attack on PStation security incorporates both software and hardware. A USB dongle is connected to the P3, and pressing the eject button on the console while it cold-boots causes the code on the stick to override the console's typical launch procedure. Based on views of the XMB noticed in the now numerous YouTube videos, the dongle appears to inject aspects of debug PS3 firmware onto the retail unit. The option to install PKG files, available only on development and test units, now works on the retail machine. From here, the key tool to "backing up" application is added onto the machine.
While you might not have heard of a PKG file before, the more likely you've installed a good amount of them on your Playstation 3. Almost every kind of program you download from PSN is in the PKG container. Once downloaded, the PS3 decompresses the comprehensive data and installs it onto your PS3. On development and test/reviewer units, so-called "unsigned code" is routinely distributed on disc, via download or on USB flash drives in PKG format. The only real difference between this and a regular PSN download is the fact that code isn't encrypted, permitting easier distribution of unfinished or review copy games (only Sony's mastering labs can encrypt, or "sign" code). Because the Install PKG option now appears on a retail unit gives us a strong indication as to how the new "Jailbreak" works as it's almost certainly not present in the standard firmware. It suggests that elements of the bespoke system updates used on the debug PS3s are being injected into the memory of the retail unit. But exactly how?
There's 2 potential explanations here. For starters, whoever is behind this is extremely clever and has isolated an exploit that enables for the injection of code over the USB port. Rather more likely is that the USB-based tools Sony uses to test and recover PS3s with corrupt firmware have been leaked and reverse-engineered for more nefarious ends. PlayStation 3s locked into "factory service mode" have been showing up every now and then for many years, and the PC-side software that runs the USB dongle was leaked a while ago.
Now it appears that the hardware has also been "liberated" from Sony's repair and test labs. This may sound somewhat implausible, but in a world where PS3 Slim photos circulate months before the launch and final units can be found in a Philippines marketplace, anything may be possible. Besides, the exact same thing happened with the tools used to service the PSP just prior to the PSP-2000 launch in September 2007. In terms of the make-up of the dongle itself, pictures posted online of the internals show a simple USB device - what looks like an innocuous 48-pin microcontroller chip on the tiny PCB and not much else. It's quite astonishing to believe that the makers are requesting a colossal $130 for such a tiny piece of tech, and it's almost certain to be reverse-engineered, ripped off and duplicated by Chinese mass-suppliers within days of showing up in market.
The software side of PS Samurai is publicly available to download, installs onto a debug PS3 and throws up few surprises. It's an extremely basic tool that rips off each file on a game disc onto the internal HDD or else onto a Usb stick or harddrive. It does appear that part of the encryption Sony uses in the files is stripped away (hashes on encrypted files change drastically), however executable still won't work with no USB dongle in place. When selecting a game to run, the device drops back to the XMB. From now on, we can only speculate but it's reasonable to assume that the chip then diverts all major disc functions to the device where the game-rip lies. As a considerate vehicle for piracy then, all bases are covered, but is this really a "jailbreak" in the form recently sanctioned by US courts? The mere existence of the backup manager - supposedly coded with tools stolen from Sony - indicate otherwise, and if the USB dongle is indeed cloned from the platform holder's own recovery tools, any pretence of legality is surely a joke.
The inclusion of the PKG installation option does indeed mean that the likes of emulators and media players may very well be ported and installed on to the PS3. However, right now it's most likely the case that Sony's own dev tools will be required to make any type of useful application, adding to the legality quagmire. All told, it's a nightmare scenario for Sony - but you could be fairly sure that its response will likely be swift. We could fully expect a mandatory firmware update to emerge from its engineering labs within days of the firm dissecting the hack, doubtless making this useless. Damage limitation would be the key, and like the OtherOS removal that Geohot's exploit brought about, Sony will be looking to minimise the physical quantity of consoles available capable of running the hack by effectively upgrading them out of contention.
Assuming the memory patch theory is true, the swiftness of the response shouldn't be a worry for Sony's engineers. Changing the make-up of the modules affected will probably be child's play for the platform holder and it would probably necessitate a greater effort for the hackers to reverse-engineer the newest code and re-patch it. Additionally, on the longer term, there's nothing to prevent Sony from introducing completely new types of encryption and execution on the way that future games boot.
However, the properties of the USB dongle itself are probably much harder to defend against. Assuming that the product itself comes from Sony's own servicing tools, it may well call for a complete, brand-new revision of motherboard to successfully defeat. The whole purpose of the dongle is to restore corrupt firmware - the chances are it has to function on a hardware level that cannot be touched by the updater. We've seen it before on Sony kit - the so-called "Pandora" battery for PSP that flips it into service mode operates about the same principle, and was only defeated by the platform holder when it revised the handheld's motherboard. Nothing could possibly be performed to protect the existing devices.
Unless Sony is able of rewriting the most basic low-level code relating to the PS3's BIOS, there's little it can do today to defeat the USB vector of attack - it's all about preventing the injected code from working. Going forward we can expect the same old cat and mouse game between hackers and platform holder to unfold, and it's not beyond the realms of possibility that sometime soon, Sony should be able to detect users of the tool and rightfully ban them from accessing PSN, just like the measures Microsoft continues to undertake annually against gamers who flash their DVD drives running copied software.
The complexity of Sony's security systems suggests that it will be able to keep one step ahead, however, there is nothing to stop people using the hack to prevent firmware upgrades from taking place. Indeed, the chip is said to protect the console from executing system updates. This obviously precludes PSN access, and in the fullness of time this approach will stop newer PS3 games from running as they will be reliant on software elements found only inside newer firmware. Bearing in mind that PS Samurai is retailing for upwards of $130, there's quite a strong possibility that this could well be the most expensive and short-lived hack ever made, and factoring in the simplicity of the hardware, the very high price seems almost reminiscent of a smash-and-grab raid on users intent on piracy regardless of what the purchase price. The manufacturers of PS Samurai are charging so high price since the time frame with regards to exclusivity and then the longevity of the hack itself is potentially really small.
Even so, the actual properties of the USB stick and how future-proof it's remain unknown. With mass-production of PS Samurai now in motion, and the first retail devices apparently set to ship prior to the month is up, Sony's engineers are doubtless gearing up for the battle to come.
Newssource: Hardcoregamer
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