Xbox 360 claimed to be permanently hacked

Great news for folks who are keen on using the Microsoft Xbox 360 for homebrew purposes. Last week, some hackers announced that they’ve been able to bypass the Xbox 360 security system to inject and execute their own code. The hackers even released a video clip on YouTube demonstrating the hack in action. And what makes this attack different from previous ones is that it is supposedly unblockable by future software updates from Microsoft.

The hack basically involves the modification of the Xbox 360’s CPU so that it fails to properly check the bootloader signature, allowing the hackers to run a bootloader of their own. In the video, Linux and a Nintendo 64 emulator are demonstrated, showing the potential of this hack. Unfortunately this method is quite tricky and has a 25% success rate, which means a lot of trial and error is required to get the desired effect. It has been tested to work on the most recent Slim and Fat models, but the older Xbox 360 consoles have not been tested yet.

While such hacks allow the console to run pirated games, the hackers have mentioned that its purpose was to enable it to run Xell (Linux) and other free software (homebrew) – they didn’t do it with the intention to screw Microsoft over. No word on how Microsoft will be responding to the attack, but for now it looks like the Xbox 360 homebrew community is in the lead. Find out more.