Eurogamer has learned a disturbing secret about the ongoing PSN security crisis. The website sights a “well-placed” Sony source in saying that another PSN exploit that was used to steal content from the service had been known about “for years”.

The source explained that while Sony knew about this exploit, it went ”unaddressed based on the belief that the PS3 system itself was unhackable”.

As a good friend of mine always says, assumption is the mother of all f*** ups.

That exploit is Rebug, a custom firmware that restores PS3s to earlier, debug versions. This version allows developers to use placeholder credit card details to purchase content from the consumer-facing PlayStation Store for testing purposes. Hackers managed to reverse its use however, thus stealing content from the PlayStation Store, although not causing PSN to be shut off and put us in the position we’re in now.

This Rebug exploit will be fixed for PSN’s return, which we’re learning now may take quite some time.

http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2011/05/09/psn-exploit-known-about-but-not-considered-dangerous/

Posted: May 10, 2011 12:21 am