PlayStations 3 used to exploit inet authentication
A team of U.S. and European computer security researchers have used a cluster of several hundred Sony PlayStation 3 video-game machines to exploit a basic weakness in the software system used to protect commercial transactions made via the Internet. The attack is possible because a handful of commercial organizations that provide components of the basic security infrastructure of the Internet are using an older security technology — despite years of warnings that it is now potentially obsolete. The flaw would make it possible for a criminal to redirect a Web surfer to a fake bank or online merchant without being detected by the security mechanism embedded in today’s Web browsers. It could also be used to subvert e-mail communications and other applications that use cryptographic software for authentication and security.
The demonstration underscores that the commercial infrastructure, as well as the privacy and security, of the Internet are based on an advanced branch of mathematics that in the future may become vulnerable to more powerful computing systems and more clever attackers. Today’s browsers display a tiny image of a padlock when a user has a secure connection to a Web site. This is intended to provide evidence that the Web site is legitimate, as the browser and the site exchange digital certificates provided by a Certificate Authority — a trusted third party. Researchers have proven they can create fake certificates that will be accepted by the security system.
Source: NY Times
Comments(32)
Thats the power of the ps3
My name is peter, and my head is really huge!!!
Screw this sony crap, i need to get my head size shrinked!!!!!
any suggestions?
just waiting for ps3 exploit allows you to play backup games
All the more reason to buy the ps3. Leaving the 360 in the dust a little bit at a time…
well at least they are useful for something, now can they just combine ps3's to exploit the "backup" capabilities. I just flogged my "free" ps3 from carphone warehouse cos they are soooooooooooooo good
XBOX 360 yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
@Peter Zhang
Go fishin great white sharks without a cage, a boat and in a lifejacket, that will do.
I like Xbox 360 because you can hack it. I like PS3 because it's better.
Yes because "several hundred" Sony PlayStation 3 were used it makes it "All the more reason to buy the ps3. Leaving the 360 in the dust a little bit at a time…" that is stupid.
…And it would take a cluster of Gameboys to exploit a Playstation 3's online Security Flaws!!
@ 10 lol that was good….I mean really couldn't they just have easily used a bunch of multiple core computers?
so this accounts for some of the ps3 sales huh?
is it me or is the sales of the ps3 gonna skyrocket now…..???
man stupid ps3 with no hacks for backup games (might be cause the price of burners and discs are still through the roof and the sheer size of a game) i am seriously considering selling my free ps3 and buying a dare i say it xbox (and if there's any money left over a wii
)
The best thing for PS3 sales right now would be a way to play backups, IE pirate games. Every single person i know who has a 360 has pirated games. it drives system sales, and drives down software sales. no doubt.
If i could pirate games i would buy a PS3 too. I love the system, but i cannot afford the games i want to play.
didn't they do this with the ps2 saying it was being used by terrorists to make rockets..
the Xbox and playstation battle again, there both have pro and cons, dont like the fact that you have to pay for XBOX LIVE for the internet features, i do like how easy it is to stream HD movies on to the PS3 form a PC, @14 i only get the games that i really want to keep, most games come out for the PC now, like the war games and I play these on the pc dl from the net
Sounds like another bad Sony PR stunt to me.
This is the reason I always check out rlslog
Several hundred?
…Sony must appreciate the boost to their Christmas sales figures.
I use my 360 mainly for gaming and my ps3 for watching movies streamed from my pc. Btw X360 owned ps3 this year.
Huge markting by SONY, they really need it…xbox360 is out of stock in all stores these days
Well, at least it will be easy to find hackers trying to use this exploit… just look for someone buying hundreds of PS3s
@12
so does the thousands of returns and repairs for the 360 =]
Sony beat Microsoft Xbox320 in sales you idiot, and they use the PS3 clusters as they are as powerful as million dollar super computers. Know your facts you stupid yanks.
@21 Yes they sold better than the PS3 but out of stock? I can go to any one of the stores in my area that sell game consoles and buy an xbox 360 with no problem at all.
This is no PR stunt. The PS3's cell processor is really good at such tasks (same operation on huge amounts of data), so it most likely had the best performance per watt/dollar for this task.
But you can't compare these algorithms to what is used in game engines normally, so this is no argument for or against the PS3.
In fact, the GPU performance is normally much more important in gaming, and the PS3's GPU has some major flaws, because its design is rather aged.
so this is why there was a ps3 shortage.
Makes you wonder what all these U.S. and European computer security researchers do when they've finished their exploiting, one big game of call of duty ?
what i want to know is… which security technology and which companies are using them, LOL!
Several hundred to break the worst of security, so how many would it take to do something impressive?
Well at least none of these PS3 in the cluster had the RROD!!
M$ makes consoles with duck tape and spit to keep production cost low hhehehe
I think,what a lot of people are forgetting is, that Sony is losing money with every ps3 they sell. The whole ps3 market is relying on the sales of games. IF someone hacks the console to play backups say good bye to ps3 it will be canceled by Sony within minutes of it being hacked. A company does not lose like 15 billion dollars (might be a little off last years losses) and then give someone a way to play stuff for free and cost themselves more money.
If you want to see the Sony Ps3 pulled off the shelves within the next 2 years make a iso reader for it tomorrow it would destroy the system hence why Sony has firmware updates once a month.
Its costing them $444.28 or something like that to make a system today this is down nearly 40% i think they said due to less parts then the original ps3's. If i was losing $50 a sale and someone made a way to play backups i would wash my hands and cut my losses.
I'm just really confused as to why people no longer pay for quality they will pay for a trash console if they can dl games for it. Regardless of whether the games are rehashed bs from the last generation.