infoTECH Feature

January 12, 2011

Sony to Take Legal Action Against PS3 Hackers

Last week a group of hackers successfully uncovered and published a security code that would allow modification of Sony’s Playstation 3 gaming console. Bypassing this code could potentially make the PS3 open to pirated games and unauthorized software, though the group claim making the code public was not intended maliciously. Regardless of the intent, Sony is now launching legal action against the parties involved hoping to stop the use of the uncovered information before it because widely employed. The company has filed a lawsuit against the hackers responsible on the grounds of copyright infringement.

In the court statements, Sony accuses the group involved (known as Fail0verflow) of, "Working individually and in concert with one another, the defendants recently bypassed effective technological protection measures employed by Sony," the document states, “Through the internet, defendants are distributing software, tools and instructions that circumvent the [protection measures] and facilitate the counterfeiting of video games. Already, pirate video games are being packaged and distributed with these circumvention devices."

The suit, which was filed in a northern California court district requests that those involved be served with a restraining order, effectively banning them from any modification of the Sony’s intellectual property in the future.

“I am a firm believer in digital rights," Said George Hotz, one of the members of Fail0verflow in an interview with BBC, “I am disappointed in Sony's current action. I have spoken with legal counsel and I feel comfortable that Sony's action against me doesn't have any basis."

The hacking group claims that it has never advocated the piracy of games and that the bypassing the security codes was done to experiment with the computing power of the PS3 more than anything else.


Chris DiMarco is a Web Editor for TMCnet. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University. Prior to joining TMC (News - Alert) Chris worked with e-commerce provider Suresource as a contact center representative and development analyst. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Chris DiMarco

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