It was only a matter of time. After the fail0verflow team discovered the cryptography key that allows various programs to run on the PS3, a new hacker known as GeoHot has gone a step further and released the PS3 root key for public use. That might not mean much to most gamers, but to those hackers out there, this is a big deal.

Now, like myself, gamers might be asking themselves what is the purpose of the root key. Essentially, with the root key in hand, any would-be hacker can trick the PS3 into recognizing a program as being supported by the machine. Anything from emulators to the Linux OS, would be welcomed as a native program and would run thusly. Really, with the root key, the world is at the hackers’ fingertips.

While it is only day one of this root key reveal and no substantial hacks have been revealed, the fact that the root key is out there is certainly big news. With such a powerful machine now entirely unlocked, there are a limitless number of possibilities. Unfortunately, most of these possibilities do not involve gaming, but instead will be centered more on using the PS3 as a work horse PC.

Not to be outdone by GeoHot, the fail0verflow team has just released a set of PS3 development tools that make better use of their cryptography key discovery. It seems like both fail0verflow and GeoHot are going to be doing battle over the next few weeks to display their PS3 hacking dominance.

Though Game Rant does not condone piracy or hacking, this news is worth reporting because of its larger implications. As the ever-changing landscape of technology begins to move towards personal devices as gaming consoles, many console owners have a lot to be concerned over.

Important information like addresses and even credit card numbers are now stored on home consoles, and if these root key programs are recognized as native, unwelcome hackers may have the potential to access said information. Surely, Sony will be quick to respond to these hacks by way of an update, but unfortunately once the doors are open they can never be closed.

What do you make of these PS3 hacks?  Do you hope that Sony will respond swiftly or would you like to see how it all pans out?

Source: GeoHot (via PSX Scene)