According to Eurogamer’s deep cover industry spies, the recent Rebug security exploit was known about “for years”, and ignored because Sony considered the PS3 to be “unhackable”.
The Rebug custom firmware for PS3 basically turned regular consoles into developer debug units, which included access to Sony’s private “sp-int” developer network. Because this network is used to test online functionality during game production, developers are able to use dummy credit card details to purchase PSN content – and, of course, hackers turned this lax security to their advantage, making off with heaps of premium content for absolutely nothing.
“The security flaw that allowed the Rebug content exploit was known for years,” the source tells Eurogamer, but was “unaddressed based on the belief that the PS3 system itself was unhackable”. Rookie mistake there, guys.
While the Rebug exploit is separate from the other issues currently keeping the PSN offline, the source confirms that it will be fixed up as part of the new security infrastructure Sony is implementing on the network.
Officially, of course, Sony has not made any comment on this particular matter whatsoever, although they’re probably kinda busy with all the other hacking going on just now.
The PlayStation Network is still down, with no confirmed date for the service to resume.
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