We all saw this coming and it has finally come.
Yes, Sony’s sued George “GeoHot” Hotz and the entire group of failoverflow which includes Hector Martin, Sven Peter and others. This lawsuit was the result of them releasing the PS3 root security key to the public which allows the release of modified firmware, pirated software and homebrew apps to be run on the console.
The charges filed by SCE are as follows:
- 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(2)(C) – Confidential Information On Computer
- 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(4) – Intent To Defraud And Obtain Value
- 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(5)(A) – Knowing Transmission of Code
- 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(5)(B) and (C) – Intentional and Reckless Damage And Loss
- 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(6)(A) – Trafficking in Password
- 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(7)(B) – Intent to Extort
GeoHot has updated his website to inform about the same.
The lawsuit against Martin and Peter appears to be an act of desperation since neither reside in the United States.
You can download the lawsuits from Hotz’s website.
We think this is a good move by Sony as it’ll teach such wrongdoers a lesson and might prevent other hackers to try and carry out similar acts of disgust in the future.