With every new console hardware release there always comes a new race between hackers to see who can be first to run their own code on the machine by circumventing the systems security measures. The first steps towards this for the XBox 360 have just been made by a team of coders going by the name of TheSpecialist’s, just four months after the consoles launch.

It hasn’t quite opened the door for homebrew coding yet, since the hack will not allow code to be executed that hasn’t been digitally signed for the system. Apparently XBox 360 executables have a special code contained in them which details the type of media (e.g. DVD, hard drive) from which that code can be run. The hack allows a backed up copy of a game disc to be run on the system by fooling it into believing that code has been read from an original game disc.

Unfortunately, just changing the media code in the executable isn’t possible, as the executable is also encrypted such that if a single byte of the code were to be different, the XBox 360 will refuse to run it.

The hack isn’t for the faint hearted either, as it requires modification to the ROM of the DVD drive, requiring some specialist equipment and soldering skills, but it probably won’t be long before we start seeing adverts for XBox 360 modding services appearing.

You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Add to Del.icio.us