The PlayStation 3 security breach fiasco has reached a legal battleground now, with Sony serving legal documents to self-professed PlayStation 3 jailbreaking hacker George ‘Geohot’ Hotz and the Fail0verflow hacking group.
Hotz has posted the legal documents on his Geohot website for all to see, for the time being.
Sony claims that the hackers have infringed on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFFA) through their unauthorised obtainment and distribution of the PS3 encryption and decryption security keys.
Sony says that the defendants are responsible for enabling piracy with the tools they have created and released into the wilds of the Internet.
As Eurogamer points out, Sony is likening their PS3 system to an illegally compromised protected computer. Hackers will claim that the device is legally owned by the person who paid for the equipment.
Sony contends that Hotz has benefited financially trough his work, accepting donations, and that his claim to be helping Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo improve their next-generation of console security is yet another example of his attempts to profit from his actions.
Sony claims there are at least 100 members of the Fail0verflow team that they wish to add to the lawsuit as their identities become known. Sony appears to be issuing the legal documents under US law, and under the State of California’s jurisdiction.
Hotz hasn’t issued any comment on the legal manoeuvrings. Fail0verflow member Hector Martin has commented via Twitter: “Ah, so Sony decided to sue everyone under US law. Guess I won’t be visiting the US in a while. No further comment on Sony, the PS3, or anything related until I can talk with a lawyer.”
Discuss Sony’s move to sue PS3 hackers on the MyGaming forum.
Source: Eurogamer
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