Hackers give-up, X-Box uncrackable

[peter2002]

XBox Hackers Throw in the Towel

Many hackers are searching for ways to run their own software on the Xbox, but so far they have been thwarted by a security mechanism in the console that only allows applications to run if they are digitally signed with Microsoft's 2048-bit private encryption key.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&ncid=&e=5&u=/pcworld/20030108/tc_pcworld/108558

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A 2048-bit encryption key has 3.231700607131100730071487668867 * 10^616 combinations to go through.

Well, they gave up to quick. It would take the world's most powerful supercomputer about 5.9026495107417364932812560161954 * 10^597 years to break a 2048 bit key if it was processing 100,000,000,000,000 keys per second. Unfortunately, the world's most powerful supercomputer, the Japanese "Earth Simulator" tops out at about 36 trillion calculations per second.

If I am not mistaken, that is roughly 10^587 years longer than the universe is old. Quite a long time to crunch. The entire universe will be either burnt out or maybe the big bang will happen again by then. Oh well...

Pete

 

[FelixDerKater]

That's interesting considering there is a Linux out for the XBox, but it requires some kind of chip to put in the console.

 

[Stike]

If the software doesn´t crack it, it must be circumvented by using a mod chip or something like that - a hardware solution. There was, is, and always will be a way to break security systems. Easiest here: Steal the key from M$
Their company computers are said to have terrible security leaks
LOL

 

[Dave K]

Actually, it wasn't so much as giving up, as MS sending over the legal crew and reminding them about the DMCA. Afterall, The Zen Project is an organization that speciallizes in entering distributed computing code breaking contests which only started this project a couple days back because $100K is on the line here as part of the "Linux On X-Box" contest. When they did, they did so with the caveat that should MS legal call they'd pull the project down because they weren't going to waste their limited resources fighting them...

Other, less public, folk will keep going ahead anyways.

 

[MrMacMan]

Originally posted by Stike
If the software doesn´t crack it, it must be circumvented by using a mod chip or something like that - a hardware solution. There was, is, and always will be a way to break security systems. Easiest here: Steal the key from M$
Their company computers are said to have terrible security leaks
LOL

Acually, with some *slighyly* inside news, something like that has already begun, can't talk about it tho, sorry.
That was Step 1.
We are now in step 3.

 

[hvfsl]

If anyone does get the Xbox to run Linux without a Mod chip, I will get one and use it as a media centre. Since the Xbox would actually cost around $700 if it was a normal PC and it is faster than the fastest Mac at playing games (until the ATI 9700 comes on the Mac).

 

[Durandal7]

Nothing is uncrackable

 

[barkmonster]

So they make a harmless toy that can't be hacked and yet their operating systems and software are so peppered with security flaws that they probably spend more time writing patches for them than coming up with new ideas.

At least this would explain the fact windows still to this day looks like a Mac/Amiga/NeXT rip off with a horrible interface resembling the colour scheme of a player select screen off a mario bros game!

 

[MrMacMan]

You don't get it people.

THIS STEP WAS FOR ATTENTION:
Something else is happening behind the scence, soon enough we might see the key broken from a leak.

That is all I can say, M$ watch out.

 

[Wardofsky]

I don't see the point in encrypting all this stuff, so far most of the game consoles have been cracked and have mod chips.

These times games have lost the fact that they are a game and are now $-$-$, well since the X-Box...

 

[Choppaface]

didn't sony release a linux kit for the PS2?

 

[robbieduncan]

Yes there is an official Linux kit for the PS2. M$ will never do that though.

 

[Chef Ramen]

all this talk of inside-hacking jobs makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside