Sony 'looking into' PS3 rootkey hack

Sony is aware of the rootkey exploit discovered by hacker George Hotz aka Geohot, and claim they will be looking into it. Unfortunately, that may be all Sony will be able to do: look.

A Sony spokesperson told Edge of the rootkey hack, ”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.”

However, the rootkey hack cannot be fixed through Sony’s usual brunt force tool of a system update, such as the one that invalidated Linux, which was the previous back door used by hackers to break the PlayStation 3. Changing the rootkey runs the risk of making a large portion of legitimate software unplayable.

As one hacker named pytey told the BBC, ”The complete console is compromised – there is no way back. The only way to fix this is to issue new hardware. Sony will have to accept this.”

How will this problem affect Sony? Let us know what you think.