Page 1 of Microsoft say XBOX360 hardware will be Hack Proof

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4218670.stm

Microsoft plans to make its next generation games console, the Xbox 360, as difficult as possible to hack.

The 360 will have security built directly into the hardware, said Xbox engineer Chris Satchell.

Fans have modified the first Xbox to turn it into a media centre, upgrade the hard drive or allow it to play imported games.

Modifying a console is illegal in the UK if this is intended to get around anti-piracy measures on the Xbox.

Consoles such as the Xbox and PlayStation 2 can be modified by chips that are soldered to a console`s main circuit board to bypass copyright controls.

The chips allow people to play games purchased legitimately in other countries, as well as running backup copies or bootleg discs.

Shortly after the first Xbox came out, computer scientists, smart amateur engineers and others started taking it apart and creating modification chips and software for the machine to make it do things Microsoft never intended it to.

Custom design

Such actions are frowned upon by the hardware manufacturers. In July last year, Sony won a court case to ban the selling of mod chips for its PlayStation 2 in the UK.


There are going to be levels of security in this box that the hacker community has never seen before

Chris Satchell, Xbox
In July of this year, a 22-year-old man became the first person in the UK to be convicted for modifying a video games console.

With the 360, Microsoft is aiming to make it as hard as possible to hack.

"We`ve taken security to the hardware level and built it in from the ground up," said Chris Satchell from the Xbox Advanced Technology Group.

"One of the reasons we went with custom hardware design for all our silicon is that it allows us to build security at the silicon level," he told the BBC News website.

"There are going to be levels of security in this box that the hacker community has never seen before."

Part of the motivation behind this is to prevent people from using the 360 to watch pirated films or TV shows.

"There are going to be levels of security in this box that the hacker community has never seen before."

hey, look, theres a wild Bull, lets wave our red rags at it :D

aparently, it`s the same security team that came up with cactus shield ;)

Same story at Eurogamer ends with:
Quote:

Even so, Satchell reckons that "sooner or later" someone will break through the Xbox 360`s security measures. He just hopes it`s later rather than sooner.


So at least they`re being realistic ;)

Al

www.admars.co.uk

Seems to me that a large part of the X-Box`s success can be attributed to the fact that people could hack it, upgrade it and whatever.

I wouldn`t be suprised if mods are available for the 360 within 6 months of launch or even sooner, microsoft is always over confident over their security (windows xp anyone!)

All they have done is issued a challenge to the hacking community, and wont be long before they are condemming the mods available for the 360.