New custom firmwares can be made by using leaked LV0 decryption keys

Oct 24, 2012 12:01 GMT  ·  By

Sony’s PlayStation 3 home console has been hacked yet again. But this time, however, it seems that the methods used by hackers can’t be beaten by the Japanese company, as the LV0 keys, which are used by the device to decrypt all the official firmware, have also been leaked.

Sony has had a lot of security problems with hackers who targeted the PlayStation 3 over the years and even suffered a major failure back in 2011, when a team of nefarious individuals managed to break open the system, leading the way to piracy on the device thanks to custom firmware versions.

While the company patched up the exploits with the release of the official 3.60 firmware, hackers continued to tinker with the PS3.

Now, the results are finally surfacing, as Eurogamer reports that a brand new custom firmware has been released on the web by a Chinese group called BlueDiskCFW, who intended to sell it to customers.

This was immediately followed by a group called The Three Tuskateers, who actually released the LV0 decryption keys, which are used by the PS3 to verify the files from an official firmware update.

The group stated that it actually uncovered the keys some time ago and sat on the reveal. However, seeing as how the Chinese hackers were trying to make money with their hard work, they decided to make the keys public.

"You can be sure that if it wouldn't have been for this leak, this key would never have seen the light of day, only the fear of our work being used by others to make money out of it has forced us to release this now," a statement from the hacker group said.

The keys can now be used by other hackers to decrypt the contents of official firmware updates, like the new 4.30 one, and then manufacture customized versions that allow pirated games to be played on the console.

As of yet, Sony hasn’t commented on the issue, but you can expect it to try to remedy this situation as soon as possible.