Sony’s security is shown to be child’s play
Hacking has become more and more popular in the 21st century. It became very popular with the release of the iPhone and the concept of “jailbreaking.”
Most people are not aware of console hacking. Aside from computers and phones, hackers have found a new playground in gaming consoles, and with the right tools, hacked consoles can lead to the installation of other operating systems on the console, and more importantly, pirated games. In the past few weeks, hackers finally hacked the PlayStation 3, a console once thought to be impregnable.
Now, I am not praising the hackers for their achievements. I am criticizing Sony for having a lackluster form of “security” for the PS3.
For those who are not familiar with the inner workings of computer code, I’ll briefly touch on the process of how the PS3 was hacked. Each console has a unique key. The key is the result of a mathematical equation that involves two unknown variables, one of which is a constant random number. What the hackers found out was the random number variable was not random at all. It was actually a set number. In other words, the programmers at Sony gave gamers a false sense of security.
This is the first time I have ever heard of a company making such a huge mistake. In an age where security is vital, this situation is unacceptable. Developers cannot assume their security is impenetrable. It has to go through numerous tests and scenarios to ensure its security. Sony put their product on the market without considering the throng of hackers and their vast knowledge of technology, and assumed no one would be smart enough.
Wrong. These hackers are smart. These are not hackers who studied at Kansas. They come from schools such as MIT, Princeton, Rice and Harvard.
The funny thing about this whole ordeal is the hack was not for the purpose of allowing pirated games, and they do not support piracy in any way. The team stated their intention for the hack was because they were mad about a PlayStation update, which removed the ability to install other operating systems on the console.
Despite the statement, the damage is done. A group of hackers have exposed a highly flawed security system, which was created with the assumption that hackers would not figure out the code in the system. This is unacceptable to both the gamers and developers alike. Unless this is fixed, Sony will be looked on as the laughing-stock of the gaming industry.
