Hackers crack PS3, gain ‘full control of the system’

A bunch of hackers calling themselves ‘fail0verflow’ claim to have unearthed the so-called ‘private key’ that authorizes PlayStation 3 code to run on the popular console.

fail0verflow are not the first individuals to have broken into the system, but they are reportedly the first to find said elusive key.

This, in theory, will enable full-on game piracy, though the group claims this isn’t their intention: according to this tweet, they simply want to get Linux running on the PS3 … whichever firmware version is running on the console.

We’ll apparently learn more when the group gets around to launching its website. Until then, the hackers intend to give a demo of their achievements at the Chaos Communication Conference tomorrow. Could this open the way for widespread PS3 piracy? If so, we might have another chart to add when 2011’s most pirated games are revealed.

[fail0verflow, via Joystiq]