360 back-up hack in reach?
Legendary (at least in the XboxHacker.net forums) hacker TheSpecialist reports progress regarding the Xbox 360's DVD firmware:
Word on the street is that some smart people of this board combined their forces, formed an underground team and are very, VERY close to getting the first 360 backup booting.
...MS did a very good job on the 360 itself this time. However, they made a big mistake by forgetting about the firmware They even didn't remove the debug routines from the FW, quite amazing ... The 360 has a little bit more advanced protection in its FW than the original xbox, but still, they did some stupid things (like forgetting about the debug routines, that were very helpful to us, hehe, and most importantly: not signing the firmware).
Curry of Xboxic explains the implications:
Not signing the firmware is indeed a major mistake, as it allows the hacker to gain full control of the drive. Microsoft can issue a forced update via Live to disable the modification, but a new firmware could be installed again which goes undetected. As such the hacker is in control of the cat/mouse game.
It's important to note that there's still no way to run unsigned code. Flashing the firmware requires a hardware programmer, so it's doubtful this hack will see wide useage when it's finally released, if it's released at all. It also means the really cool homebrew like XBMC is still a hacker's dream.
All of this stuff is either Intriguing or unsavory depending on your level of technical interest and adherance to the Boy Scout oath. See Xboxic's excellent analysis for more detail/background.
