Sony files for restraining order against Geohot+fail0verflow

[Patticus]

We knew Sony would be non-plussed about the PlayStation 3 jailbreak, and now we have a better idea as to the full extent of its anger. The company has filed suit against George "Geohot" Hotz, the "hacking group" fail0verflow (Hector Cantero, Sven Peter, "Bushing," and "Segher"), and numerous John / Jane Does over the exploit and its release. To be more specific, the company cites violations of Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, various copyright infringements, and other acts of binary malfeasance. A temporary restraining order has also been sought, asking that all "circumvention tools" be taken offline and his computers and related media (i.e. anything storing said tools) be impounded. It looks like Geohot's servers are being slammed at the moment, so we've gone ahead and hosted the relevant PDFs ourselves below. We're still sifting through ourselves and will let you know what we unearth.

Update: Nilay here -- let's take a look at what's going on. This isn't a "lawsuit" in the traditional sense, since Sony hasn't filed a complaint for copyright infringement or whatever against Geohot and friends. Instead, the company appears to be trying to shove the genie back in the bottle and have the jailbreak and any information about the jailbreak removed from the web by filing a temporary restraining order. That might work in the short term -- Geohot's already pulled his pages down -- but history suggests that the forces of paperwork rarely triumph over the righteous anger of nerds, and that this code is out there for good. That said, we'll see what the court says tomorrow; although we very much doubt Sony's melodramatic proposed motion and order will be granted as written, we wouldn't be surprised if some sort of order is eventually granted -- and then from there a formal lawsuit is likely just a few days away.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/11/sony-sues-geohot-fail0verflow-over-ps3-exploits/

http://podcasts.aolcdn.com/engadget/files/GeohotProposedOrder.pdf

http://podcasts.aolcdn.com/engadget/files/GeohotMotion.pdf

A temporary restraining order may be granted ex parte, that is, without informing in advance the party to whom the temporary restraining order is directed. Usually, a party moves ex parte to prevent an adversary from having notice of one's intentions. The TRO is granted to prevent the adversary from acting to frustrate the purpose of the action, for example, by wasting or hiding assets (as often occurs in dissolution of marriage) or disclosing a trade secret that had been the subject of a non-disclosure agreement.

I doubt this'll be much of a deterrent for other hackers, it'll probably just attract more of them.

<geohot> the lawyer, when explaining the TRO to me, said i would have to remove the keys from the internet

Good luck with that. XD

Interestingly, iPhone jailbreaking was declared legal in the US back in July:

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/07/feds-ok-iphone-jailbreaking/

[Dobkeratops]

Won't pass like all those lawsuits do, but personally I'd be delighted to see that geohot asshole screwed. I mean, "if you can hack consoles you deserve pirated games"? That's the kind of statement that deserves a punch in the face.

Besides, a little prison time could be a good time to truly test those jailbreaking skills. D'ohoho

[Dreadknux]

The whole hypocrisy of 'homebrew' pisses me right off. The line that they throw at everyone - that 'we don't intend to use this for piracy, but pirates screw it up' is absolute bull. Look at the state of 'homebrew' on the PSP. Brave new fuckin' world that turned out to be. It's just a bunch of sloppy clock apps by 13 year olds and emulators. And piracy. Homebrewers say that their only job in piracy is to crack the console - turns out they don't actually do any homebrew either.

Hell, it's taken 8/9 years for the Dreamcast to be a true homebrew machine, and that's several years after the GD-ROM oversight was exclusively taken advantage of by pirates (amongst other things). Homebrewers crack consoles and then move on to the next 'prize'. They don't stick around. I'll look forward to what applications these 'custom firmware' hackers will be building with some mirth.

The 'OtherOS' argument is toss as well. Running Linux on a closed box without access to the console's full architecture isn't worth hacking the system for, honestly. Get a cheap-ass PC box for less than a PS3 these days, do that. If homebrewers were really happy with just having OtherOS in the first place, they wouldn't have tried to find security holes and force Sony to remove the functionality either. Basically, homebrewers are c'nts.

Now I'm off my soapbox, I'll add that I have no interest in what happens to the Great Gurning Geohot or fail0verflow (although the latter was classy enough to not release any keys or other details and just highlight the security issues). Reading that complaint document though, it seems that Sony really is throwing the kitchen sink at them both. And some 100 others.

[Patticus]

MS is going to protect Geohot. This actually proves that Sony are getting desperate and have no clue how to fix this exploit.

[Candescence]

Hate to say it, Dreadknux, but your point is SEVERELY undermined by the Wii's homebrew community, which is indeed quite active, and there's all sorts of applications and games. Hell, at one point, one of the major players in the Wii homebrew community actually tried to inform Nintendo of an exploit that would allow pirating, but... These days, the HackMii guys have taken a 'eh, Nintendo have tried to stamp out hombrew way too many times, we don't give a shit if people do piracy anymore' stance.

Really, though? All this legal crap isn't gonna do jack. The codes are already online. It's game over for any chances of Sony actually preventing hackers from getting into the PS3.

Edited January 12, 2011 by Masaru Daimon

[-Mark-]

I have the Homebrew Channel on my Wii, but all I've ever really used it for is to play games that I've imported legally that won't play otherwise.

[Woun]

It's not cool.

Generally I do not see the sense burglary PS3.

Because it is better to play normally and not think about when you are banned.

Edited January 12, 2011 by Woun

[Dobkeratops]

Of course it's not going to prevent anything. But Sony has to show legal actions to appease shareholders, even if it's futile.

And the worst part is that ultimately, the real losers here are developers and legit users. PSN will inevitably end up ripe with cheaters much like Wii online and Live are, and you can bet your testicles that next generation consoles will enforce stupider DRM.

[goku262002]

This restraining order is futile. its only showing that SONY can't fix this and the only way they can "fix" this is through lawyers. the information is already released and is spreading like wildfire.

There is a "last ditch effort" SONY can do, but it would require wiping out all the keys that make any game that was released for the PS3 work.

If PS2 emulation can be worked out through this exploit I'm all for it. SONY first stupid mistake was removing the PS2 hardware from the 2nd generation PS3s and never offering an option other then to buy a PS2 again. and the only way to play PS2 games on a PS3 is either wait for those HD re-releases or searching the 'net for a first generation PS3 which are up the ass expensive.

I could care less about piracy for the PS3. everything the PS2 had exclusive is now multi-platform so theres no real exclusive games that interest me except metal gear solid 4 and that game is soo low in price i can just buy it used and MGR is coming to 360.

[Dobkeratops]

If PS2 emulation can be worked out through this exploit I'm all for it.

[Scar]

'Bout time.

Who knows, maybe Sony will release another firmware upgrade that bricks the PS3 if you use said jailbreaking system. Though I imagine that would take some time.

[Velotix von Skruviktorrius]

Oh, look, Sony Are Bastards once again. This coming from a company that saw fit to release a rootkit as part of their CD security software and find every loophole in the legal books to screw everyone any way they can whether it actually is legal or not, I'm not remotely surprised.

Hope Geohot and crew win this on principle as they should: exploring the limits and architecture of hardware is not illegal, never should be illegal, and would be suicide for the entire computing field if it were. Fuck Sony.

[Chooch]

It doesn't affect me because I buy all of my PS3 games anyway.

Edited January 13, 2011 by Chooch

[Dreadknux]

Hope Geohot and crew win this on principle as they should: exploring the limits and architecture of hardware is not illegal, never should be illegal, and would be suicide for the entire computing field if it were. Fuck Sony.

Every console comes with a manual. That manual gives you a clear instruction as to how you should treat a closed system like a console. You buy said console on agreement of said instruction. It is illegal when you crack code that goes against that instruction. I'm guessing you were the kind of person that skipped all those EULAs on PC games too, eh?

@Masaru Daimon: Active it may be, and solid the Homebrew Channel is, but the quality of apps simply proves my point. DVD player, Alarm Clock, MP3 player, cheat codes, strobe light (?), really bad copies of Wii Fit... the applications available aren't exactly imaginative. Although I can't deny the one truly great thing about Wii Homebrew - Reggie!

[goku262002]

Idiot post

Call me what you want! I stick by to what i say. SONY has fucked me over soo many times that i couldn't care less (HURHUR I SAID IT AGAIN!) what there worthless fanboys try to say to defend it.

So please explain why PS2 emulation can't be acomplished through your series of pictures, fanboy.

Edited January 13, 2011 by goku262002

[Dreadknux]

Call me what you want! I stick by to what i say. SONY has fucked me over soo many times that i couldn't care less (HURHUR I SAID IT AGAIN!) what there worthless fanboys try to say to defend it.

So please explain why PS2 emulation can't be acomplished through your series of pictures, fanboy.

1. Calling someone a fanboy = instant fail.

2. Fanboys aren't defending it. You're blinded by a bad experience, and you don't sound at all rational.

3. It wasn't a joke at your use of "care less" (that you italicised), it was your use of "could" in "could care less." You actually wrote it correctly this time around.

4. PS2 emulation won't work because it requires internal hardware (at least the GPU) from the PS2 in order for it to work. Almost every model barring the original 60GB and 40GB do not have these components.

[Carbo]

So please explain why PS2 emulation can't be acomplished through your series of pictures, fanboy.

Emotion Engine is required. 60 gig US models had it temporarily while all the other Pre-Slim US models only emulated it through software. EU users only got the software emulation on the very older models. The EE was too costy to implement so it was discontinued, and implementing emulation was pointless because it suffered the same setbacks as Xbox emulation on 360 where a bunch of games have shitload of errors such as graphical issues, saving problems and slowdowns.

Implementing it is not worth the effort, and making it work requires hardware modifications. It's a waste.

Edited January 13, 2011 by Carbo

[Dobkeratops]

Actually, the Emotion Engine can be emulated in Cell. European PS3s with BC only had the Graphics Synthesizer, which is the one that's hard to replace with a software solution due to its exotic design.

If it was so easy to have software BC on the PS3, Sony would have done it already and started selling PS2 isos for $15-20 on PSN. But when you pretty much have to put a goddamn PS2 inside or resort to high end hardware to bruteforce performance (as seen in that one PS2 emulator for PC), it's fairly evident coding alone won't get anywhere relevant.

Most you could hope for would be, say, PS2 region lock bypass for the PS3s that do have BC.

:3

[Unknownlight]

Although I can't deny the one truly great thing about Wii Homebrew - Reggie!

I would argue that Riivolution and the entire Brawl hacking community should also belong in the "awesome Wii hacks that make the system so much more enjoyable" category.

[Velotix von Skruviktorrius]

I'm guessing you were the kind of person that skipped all those EULAs on PC games too, eh?

Naturally.

I do not withdraw my opinion on the matter - I have long distrusted Sony's business ethics and this situation is no different. It is the main reason I do not buy their products.

Further, although I am not a legal expert by any means and do not have intimate knowledge of Sony's EULAs - mainly because I have never personally purchased any of their products - what I am aware of is that a company cannot add a clause to their client agreements that contradicts the law in that region, and in the event that they do the agreement is legally void. Put another way, a company cannot make a client agree to illegal conduct by the service provider via an EULA. I suspect (but cannot prove - again not an expert) that any such clause in the contract that denies the user the right to disassemble, analyse and/or modify the hardware they have purchased cannot be legally binding. Conversely a clause that would revoke online access to modified and/or disassembled hardware would be legally binding.

I bring this up mainly because there are rumours that Sony are capable of actually bricking any offending hardware, which would definitely be illegal regardless of any EULA should Sony actually resort to this measure.

If you need an example of companies having to dance around this issue, here's the trick Blizzard uses in the WoW EULA:

If any provision of this Agreement shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this Agreement and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. This Terms of Use Agreement is the complete and exclusive statement of the agreement between you and Blizzard concerning the Service, and this Agreement supersedes any prior or contemporaneous agreement, either oral or written, and any other communications with regard thereto between you and Blizzard; provided, however that this Agreement is in addition to, and does not replace or supplant, the EULA or the BNET TOU. This Agreement may only be modified as set forth herein.

[Carbo]

The bullshit has flown off the handle into hyperdrive bullshit mode like it wanted nothing to do with that handle.

Sony is threatening to sue anybody posting or “distributing” the first full-fledged jailbreak code for the 4-year-old PlayStation 3 gaming console.

What’s more, the company is demanding that a federal judge order Google to surrender the IP addresses and other identifying information (.pdf) of those who have viewed or commented about the jailbreak video on a private YouTube page. The game maker is also demanding that Twitter provide the identities of a host of hackers who first unveiled a limited version of the hack in December.

Sony’s aggressive pretrial discovery demands come in its lawsuit against George Hotz. The 21-year-old New Jersey hacker, who is well known in the jailbreaking community, published the finished PlayStation 3 code and a how-to YouTube video last month. The code enables the Playstation 3 to play pirated and homebrewed games.

Sony wants the information “to determine the identities of third parties hosting and distributing the circumvention devices” so Sony can send them a DMCA notice to remove the material “and, if necessary, seek appropriate relief from this court.” (.pdf)

“The discovery they call for in my opinion is overbroad,” Hotz’ attorney, Stewart Kellar, said in a telephone interview.

Sony declined to comment.

A hearing is tentatively set for Wednesday. Sony filed its documents about 7:30 p.m. PST on Friday.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ordered Hotz to remove the YouTube video and the code from his personal website — orders with which Hotz complied with last week. Ahead of an unscheduled trial in which Sony is seeking unspecified damages from Hotz, Illston had concluded that Hotz likely breached the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. He did so by publishing or “distributing” a hack designed to circumvent software meant to protect copyrighted material, the judge said.

Hotz, by order of Illston, is also scheduled to surrender his computer gear to Sony by Thursday. Kellar is trying to convince Judge Illston to back away from allowing Sony to examine his drives and other devices.

Sony is also trying to haul into court the so-called “fail0verflow hacking team.”

But first, Sony needs to learn the identities and whereabouts of the group’s members. They are accused of posting a rudimentary hack in December. It was refined by Hotz weeks later when he accessed the console’s so-called “metldr keys,” or root keys that trick the system into running unauthorized programs

Toward getting the fail0verflow defendants to appear into court, Sony is demanding that Twitter divulge the personal account information (.pdf) behind the usernames of @KaKaRoToKS, @gnihsub, @pytey, @bl4sty, @marcan42 and @fail0verflow.

Sony claims the hacks will eat into game sales for the 41 million PS3 units sold.

The DMCA makes it either a civil or criminal offense to traffic in wares meant to circumvent devices protecting copyrighted works.

Ironically, performing a similar hack on a mobile phone is lawful.

Last summer, the U.S. Copyright Office exempted cell phone jailbreaking from being covered by the DMCA. The decision means consumers may run the apps of their choice on mobile phones without fear of being civilly or criminally liable for a DMCA breach.

Edited February 9, 2011 by Carbo

[Candescence]

And guess how Sony spectacularly screwed up.

Seriously, they re-tweeted the damn code on an official Sony Twitter because the person operating the Twitter didn't have a damn clue. Which could, if it was pointed out, invalidate their entire case. Granted, I'm not sure, but this is just hilarious.

EPIC FAIL.

But, seriously, Sony should just give up, they can't salvage any of this. The PS3 and PSP have been completely smashed open with a metaphorical sledgehammer, they can't do jack.

Edit: Huh. Apparently, it's just the dongle/service mode key. Still hilarious, though.

Edited February 9, 2011 by Masaru Daimon

[Badnik Mechanic]

SONY has fucked me over soo many times that i couldn't care less (HURHUR I SAID IT AGAIN!) what there worthless fanboys try to say to defend it.

Well short of sending Kevin Butler around to piss on your furniture I'd imagine the reason Sony fucked you over is as eye rolling as the reasons everyone gives when they say ***** company fucked me over.

I do not withdraw my opinion on the matter - I have long distrusted Sony's business ethics and this situation is no different. It is the main reason I do not buy their products.

I bring this up mainly because there are rumours that Sony are capable of actually bricking any offending hardware, which would definitely be illegal regardless of any EULA should Sony actually resort to this measure.

If you are so ethically minded. Why do you have any interest in videogames at all?

Microsoft can do exactly the same thing, and they have done exactly the same thing.

Lets be honest here, if Nintendo actually bothered to make a console with even half decent security they'd be doing exactly the same thing. Because they certainly did just that when random consoles started to fail following firmware update 4.2. That stopped people from playing Wiis full stop, not just the online features... also anyone remember how that particular update went horribly wrong for lots of people who found their non modified console started to shut down? I do... we had a sticky topic on SSMB warning users not to update it.

Do we need to go into the numbers of black opps players that got banned from playing online recently for modifications? Do you think this is going to start and end with black opps?

Also lets be frank, this would be happening a lot on Microsofts side of the fence if it wasn't for the fact that a lot of these people pay over £30 for a subscription, after all, those exclusive deals, timed exclusive deals and cross game chat isn't going to pay for itself.

Edit: Oh look, just as I post this it would seem that people who play Gamelofts Modern Combat are also going to be bannedvery soon too.

Edited February 9, 2011 by Hogfather

[jennytablina]

Naturally.

I do not withdraw my opinion on the matter - I have long distrusted Sony's business ethics and this situation is no different. It is the main reason I do not buy their products.

[Tornado]

Every console comes with a manual. That manual gives you a clear instruction as to how you should treat a closed system like a console. You buy said console on agreement of said instruction.

This is assuming that contracts that you cannot actually view until after you commit are actually valid. And also assuming that EULAs have any basis for being applied to hardware in the first place.

It is illegal when you crack code that goes against that instruction.

In America, at least, it is explicitly a case-by-case situation of legality. And one that, post-iPhone, errs to the side of "legal."

I'm guessing you were the kind of person that skipped all those EULAs on PC games too, eh?

Software EULA's are an entirely different kettle of fish compared to hardware EULAs. PC software in particular, which has EULAs that are completely different from the ones that console software has.

Microsoft can do exactly the same thing, and they have done exactly the same thing.

They never did that, and they never could do that.

I also don't remember Microsoft demanding YouTube and Twitter send them IP information for every person in the world who simply watched a video talking about hacking the 360 (or the original XBox). Microsoft's response to the 360 being hacked wasn't to pretend that they owned the fucking internet.

Which is something that they did have every right to do, and has absolutely nothing to do with this.

Lets be honest here, if Nintendo actually bothered to make a console with even half decent security they'd be doing exactly the same thing. Because they certainly did just that when random consoles started to fail following firmware update 4.2. That stopped people from playing Wiis full stop, not just the online features...

That was down to an update that was programmed in a very shitty way rather than one that was actually intended to brick modded Wiis. It was blowing up Wiis in general with no real correlation to whether they were modded or not.

The same thing happened to some PS3s back in 2009 when you updated to 3.00. It happened again last year with the infamous 3.21 firmware update.

Mario, Luigi and Yoshi trek across ice and snow to stop the shelled ones' schemes. But Bowser's slick; in one last trick, he takes the dearest thing of all. Now Tornado is Missing!!

Edited February 9, 2011 by Tornado