Sony braces itself for latest move by hackers and pirates: Pirated BluRay discs
According to reports on the internet, as well as a few dozen YouTube videos, it seems that consumer electronics giant, Sony, have to ready themselves against a fresh wave of attacks from unwanted third parties.
Sony seem to have some sort of target sign painted on them, metaphorically speaking of course, as it has become the subject of a number of attacks for hackers and pirates alike.
After being forced to close its online service, the PlayStation Network, down for over three weeks after a breach of their servers and their data being compromised, a move which eventually cost the company over a $100-million, they had to deal with their
first ‘jailbreak’ as well.
Similar to what the Jailbreak software used for Apple devices, a similar software was released on which ‘unlocked’ the PlayStation 3 console. This allowed pirates access to the console and unauthorised digital files containing games could be run on the PS3.
Basically, gamers could use the Jailbreak to play pirated games on their consoles, much like the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii.
Sony responded with a firmware update, v3.60, which promptly took care of the security issue. All updates since then have enforced the security protocols implemented by the company.
However, recent YouTube videos seem to show an update to the Jailbreak software itself. Affectionately called JB2, which most definitely has to stand for Jailbreak 2, the software seems to demonstrate its ability to unlock the PlayStation 3 console once
again, but in a slightly different manner.
As mentioned earlier, the firmware update 3.60 has blocked out the ability for anyone to load and play unauthorised PlayStation 3 game files, however, JB2 has a more diabolical Ace up its sleeve.
It fools the PlayStation 3 into running pirated copies of BluRay discs, which, put in simpler words allows users to purchase and play video games on pirated BluRay discs; much like pirated DVDs and CDs.
Apparently, there was a ‘soft launch’ in Indonesia, where it seems all the digital pirates seem to come from. Reports confirm that games such as Electronic Arts’ best selling football simulation title, FIFA 12, Sony Computer Entertainment’s God of War Collection
and Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer 2012, have all been pirated and are being distributed in the country.
The reports also go on to state that a global launch will follow shortly.
Again these are still reports, but the PlayStation 3 seems to be the Holy Grail for hackers and pirates, as Sony have managed to protect it from the latter for quite some time.
However, it seems the company has to gear up once again. If the reports are true one can expect Sony to have another update in the works very soon.
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