PlayStation 3 Hacks Threaten Games, Trophies

Sony has been building a response to the hacker who exposed the PlayStation 3 root key, even as the fallout from the hack continues to grow. "Geohot," the hacker responsible, is known for his iPhone exploits, but gained more notoriety recently when he broke the key and sent word out to fellow hackers. Geohot claims he doesn't condone piracy, and offered to be a security tester for the next set of consoles.

Despite the claim, though, hackers and home brew makers had shown proof of pirated games running on the PS3 just over a week after the root key was published. PlayStation 3 hacks started in earnest last year, but Sony was able to update the PS3 firmware to stay ahead of the curve. This hack, by exposing a piece of code that isn't updated, won't be so easy to reverse.

Engadget reports that Sony has responded to Geohot with a restraining order, apparently trying to pull any pages that include the code. Unfortunately, once a code like this has hit the internet, it's nearly impossible to erase all traces of it.

As if that weren't enough, a new home brew application could devalue Trophies as well. CVG reports that the application can unlock all Trophies in a PS3 game instantly, with random timestamps. Some games like Batman: Arkham Asylum are apparently immune to the hack, but users are already bragging about unlocking all the trophies in other titles.

Sony has issued a statement on the Trophy issue: "We are aware of this, and are currently looking into it. We will fix the issues through network updates, but because this is a security issue, we are not able to provide you with any more details." We'll probably be hearing similar lines in the near future as Sony continues its attempts to put a lid on these security concerns.