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another update:
Sony Corp. has reached a settlement with a young computer hacker that unlocked its PlayStation 3 console, putting an end to a legal conflict that had triggered a debate on the Internet.
The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed in January by Sony's U.S. operations against George Hotz, after he posted information that could be used to disable the security system in the PlayStation 3 console.
"It was never my intention to cause any users trouble or to make piracy easier," said Mr. Hotz, a 21-year-old New Jersey resident, in a statement.
As part of the agreement, Mr. Hotz agreed not to continue sharing the offending code, though he denies any wrongdoing on his part.
Mr. Hotz is also credited with discovering security flaws several years ago in Apple Inc.'s iPhone that could be exploited to allow customers to run unapproved applications on the device.
Apple has spoken out against the action, commonly called "jailbreaking," saying it violates the device's warranty.
Sony went a step further, suing Mr. Hotz and a group of hackers while demanding that the offending code be taken off the Internet.
The reason, analysts say, is that while many users jailbreak Apple devices in order to change its behavior, videogame-console hackers typically circumvent security protocols in order to play and distribute illegally copied games. Reaction to the lawsuit among various Internet communities was often heated and eventually led a hacker group known as "Anonymous" to say it would attack Sony's Internet services and Web pages in protest. For its part, Sony said it wanted to protect the work of engineers, artists, musicians and programmers who make games for its platform.
Sony has agreed to drop a lawsuit against a hacker who published the secret key used to jailbreak the PlayStation 3, in exchange for promises he will drop all future attempts to unlock the game console.
Sony Corp. has reached a settlement with a young computer hacker that unlocked its PlayStation 3 console, putting an end to a legal conflict that had triggered a debate on the Internet.
The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed in January by Sony's U.S. operations against George Hotz, after he posted information that could be used to disable the security system in the PlayStation 3 console.
"It was never my intention to cause any users trouble or to make piracy easier," said Mr. Hotz, a 21-year-old New Jersey resident, in a statement.
As part of the agreement, Mr. Hotz agreed not to continue sharing the offending code, though he denies any wrongdoing on his part.
Mr. Hotz is also credited with discovering security flaws several years ago in Apple Inc.'s iPhone that could be exploited to allow customers to run unapproved applications on the device.
Apple has spoken out against the action, commonly called "jailbreaking," saying it violates the device's warranty.
Sony went a step further, suing Mr. Hotz and a group of hackers while demanding that the offending code be taken off the Internet.
The reason, analysts say, is that while many users jailbreak Apple devices in order to change its behavior, videogame-console hackers typically circumvent security protocols in order to play and distribute illegally copied games. Reaction to the lawsuit among various Internet communities was often heated and eventually led a hacker group known as "Anonymous" to say it would attack Sony's Internet services and Web pages in protest. For its part, Sony said it wanted to protect the work of engineers, artists, musicians and programmers who make games for its platform.
Sony has agreed to drop a lawsuit against a hacker who published the secret key used to jailbreak the PlayStation 3, in exchange for promises he will drop all future attempts to unlock the game console.