14 DAY TRIAL // A federal judge granted several subpoenas that force Internet companies to give Sony details and access logs for accounts belonging to PS3 hacker George Hotz.
Hotz, aka geohot, is famous for being the first person to hack the iPhone and PS3. He was sued by Sony for unspecified damages after he published the secret key used to sign all software that runs on the PlayStation 3.
The key was cracked late last year due to an oversight in Sony's implementation of the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) and can be used to sign and run any custom software on the game console.
The key can also technically be used to run pirated games, but the signing tool released by geohot only worked for "homebrew" software.
A judge previously granted Sony a temporary restraining order against geohot, forcing him to take all materials related to PS3 hacking down from his personal website and other online accounts.
He was also ordered to give Sony's lawyers all of his computers and storage devices for inspection so they can gather evidence regarding the presence of copyright protection circumvention software.
Sony sued other hackers who used the key as well and threatened to go after anyone who downloaded it from geohot's website.
According to Wired, the company was now granted subpoenas against Bluehost, the hosting provider for geohot's personal website, Google, for data from geohot's Blogger and YouTube accounts and Twitter for information for the hacker's profile there.
Sony is looking for access logs, as well as geohot's personal information, to prove that he distributed the hack and to show that many users who downloaded it are from North California, which would justify a trial there.
Sony prefers a case in North California, but since Hotz is a resident of New Jersey, his defense team argues that the case should be moved there.