From generation to generation, consoles are hacked to perform other tasks, and thePS5has just started down that path. A longtime hacking group known as Fail0verflow has made some headway in hacking thePS5, with the console just days away from its first anniversary.
When it comes to hacking a video game console, if someone can breach its security far enough and find its root key, they can get trick the console into performing other tasks that it was not initially designed for.Fail0verflow notoriously cracked the PS3at the beginning of the 2010s, which was followed by another hacker named GeoHot releasing the PS3 root key to the public, prompting Sony to take legal action against them. Console manufacturers implement security to prevent misuse of their products, and naturally, once a methodology is discovered to do so, the manufacturer will likely do what it takes to shut it down. GeoHot was met with a warning to never tamper with Sony products ever again.
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Fail0verflow recently announced that it successfully retrieved the PS5’s root keys. The news comes in a pair of tweets, the first showing an illegible string of code for the uninformed with the caption, “Another one bites the dust.” Some time after, Fail0verflow quoted that tweet with an explanation, writing, “Translation: We got all (symmetric) ps5 root keys. They can all be obtained from software - including per-console root key, if you look hard enough!” Like whenFail0verflow accessed the PS3, it did not publish the PS5’s root key, nor has any other party done so yet.
As of this moment, Sony has not made any statement regarding the development. While it is definitely discouraged by Sony to jailbreak its devices, the problem during the PS3 era was the public dissemination of the jailbreaking process, the release of the PS3 root keys, not necessarily the fact that it had been accomplished. Nonetheless, Sony will likely want to know exactly what Fail0verflow did to access that information so that it can prevent it from happening going forward.Fail0verflow also jailbroke the PS4shortly into its life, getting the console to run Linux and play a modded version ofPokemon Emerald.
It is pretty surprising to see how quickly Fail0verflow hacked the PS5. The biggest things to watch for going forward then are what Fail0verflow does with its newfound information, and how Sony responds if it chooses to. Considering howSony is already dealing with limited PS5 supply, the last thing it probably wants is another lawsuit. ThePS5would have been hacked eventually, but most probably expected it to take a bit longer than this.
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