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{{multiple issues|original research=May 2011|primarysources=May 2011|refimproveBLP=May 2011}}
HE IS THE MUZZAFUZZA THAT HACKED THE PLAY STATION NETWORK I HATE HIM!@#!#!@#!@!#$#$@$$#@$!#!@#!@#@!#@!#@
{{Cleanup|date=February 2011}}
{{Infobox person
| image = George Hotz.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| name = George Hotz
| birth_name = George Francis Hotz
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1989|10|02}}
| birth_place = [[Glen Rock]], [[New Jersey]], [[United States of America|USA]]
| other_names = geohot, million75, mil, dream hax0r
| nationality = [[United States of America|American]]
| alma_mater = [[Bergen County Academies]]
}}

'''George Francis Hotz''', alias '''geohot''', '''million75''' or simply '''mil''', is an American [[hacker]] known for [[unlock phone|unlocking]] the [[iPhone]], allowing the phone to be used with other [[wireless carrier]]s, contrary to [[AT&T]] and [[Apple's]] intent.<ref>
{{cite news|last = Stone|first = Brad|coauthor = John Biggs|title = With Software and Soldering, AT&T's Lock on iPhone Is Undone |work = New York Times |page = C-1| url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00717FD3A580C768EDDA10894DF404482|date = August 25, 2007|accessdate = 2007-09-02|accessdate = 2010-04-03}}
</ref><ref>{{cite news|title = Interview with 17 year old iPhone hacker|publisher = CNBC|date = September 30, 2007|url = http://www.webcastr.com/videos/science_technology/interview-with-17-year-old-iphone-hacker.html}}</ref> He is also noted for hacking the [[PlayStation 3]] and subsequently being sued by Sony.

==Hacking Apple iOS devices==
According to Hotz's blog, he traded his unlocked 8 GB iPhone to Terry Daidone, the founder of Certicell, for a [[Nissan 350Z]] and three 8 GB iPhones.<ref name="iphonetrade">[http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com/2007/08/iphone-has-been-traded.html On the iPhone: THE iPhone HAS BEEN TRADED], Accessed May 3, 2008.</ref> Hotz said he wanted to give the iPhones to the other members of the team who created the hack with him.<ref>[http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com/2007/08/postmortem.html On the iPhone: Postmortem]. Retrieved August 3, 2009.</ref> Hotz's hardware based unlocking technique has largely been replaced by software unlocking that does not require dis-assembly of the iPhone.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/09/01/apple.iphone/index.html Code to unlock iPhone cracked]. Retrieved October 11, 2007.</ref> On February 8, 2008, Hotz developed the software unlock for the iPhone's new Bootloader Version 4.6 that was previously only achievable with a "testpoint based hardware unlock".<ref>[http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com/2008/02/11246unlock-good-enough-for-prize.html On the iPhone: 11246unlock, good enough for the prize]</ref> On July 3, 2009, Hotz announced purplera1n, the first public software exploit for jailbreaking the iPhone 3GS. Details were posted on his blog.<ref>[http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com/ On the iPhone]</ref>

On October 11, 2009, at 3:33AM Hotz released [[blackra1n]], a jailbreak for all iPhones and iPod Touches. The only caveat was that the iPod touch third generation would need a "tethered jailbreak" to work. On October 25, 2009, Hotz released Blackra1n RC2, an update to his previous blackra1n utility. This version allows MC Model iPod Touch 2G (8 GB iPod Touch, third generation) and new-bootrom iPhone 3GS users to jailbreak their iPod touches as well. (tethered jailbreak only)<ref>[http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com/2009/10/blackra1n-is-live.html On the iPhone: blackra1n is live]</ref> On October 31, 2009, Hotz announced the impending release of Blackra1n RC3, this version to include blacksn0w which would allow SIM unlock of all iPhones using Blacksn0w RC1.<ref>[http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com/2009/11/information-campaign.html On the iPhone: An Information Campaign]</ref> Blacksn0w was originally scheduled for release on November 4, 2009, but due to positive test results it was moved to the 3rd. Blacksn0w was the #1 trending topic on Twitter as requested by GeoHot only moments after its release.

On March 27, 2010, Hotz established a website for his newest jailbreak software, limera1n.<ref name="Limera1n"/> Limera1n was rumored to be his newest jailbreaking tool and was released, however, it was later found that Hotz registered another domain at the same time, rubyra1n.com.<ref>[http://www.rubyra1n.com Rubyra1n]</ref> It is still unknown if rubyra1n will ever be released. On June 24, 2010, Hotz wrote on Twitter that he had no plans to release a new jailbreak. He has told people looking for a jailbreak release to 'keep an eye on [[Spirit (iOS jailbreak)|Spirit]],<ref>[http://spiritjb.com/ Jailbrake by Spirit]</ref> the currently used program for 3.1.x jailbreaking, which led to the belief there are plans to update the software to allow iOS 4.0 jailbreaking. This however has not had a release date confirmed.<ref>[http://twitter.com/geohot Geohot (GeoHot) on Twitter]. Twitter.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-16.</ref> On July 10, 2010, Hotz published that he had been able to jailbreak an iPhone 4 running iOS 4.0. As evidence, he provided a picture of the device executing [[Cydia (application)|Cydia]]. This post has since been edited and blocked from public view, in which Hotz stated that the picture was "quite obviously fake", addressing himself to "the haters". On July 13, 2010, Hotz announced his retirement from iDevices hacking, saying that it's not fun as it used to be, and people were taking too serious something he used to do just as a distraction.<ref>[http://www.tech-exclusive.com/geohot-says-goodbye-to-iphone-community/ GeoHot says Goodbye to iPhone Community]. Tech-exclusive.com (2010-07-13). Retrieved on 2011-04-15.</ref>

On October 8, 2010, Hotz confirmed he was releasing a Jailbreak on 10/11/10; one day after the release of GreenPois0n. He also posted a picture of limera1n running on an iPhone 3G S, iPod Touch fourth generation, iPhone 4 and on the iPad. On October 9, 2010, Hotz released limera1n Beta 1 – without support for the 3GS (due to a problem with the bootrom). Additionally, the exploit has been found to be moderately buggy, even on supported devices.<ref name="Limera1n">[http://www.limera1n.com Limera1n]</ref> This suspended the release of the SHAtter exploit in the form of greenpois0n, due for release the next day. On the limera1n website, he claims this was to make the Chronic Dev team "do the right thing" – presumably implying that they should save their jailbreak exploit for fifth generation devices. He later went on to release three more betas, containing support for iPhone 3GS models, along with various bug fixes and other stability enhancements. On October 11, 2010, Hotz released what appears to be the final version of his jailbreak (RC1b).<ref name="Limera1n"/> Hotz also put on his website that the Mac version of this jailbreak is "coming in 7 years", but was released about 2 weeks later.

==Hacking the PlayStation 3==
Towards the end of 2009, Hotz announced his efforts to hack the [[Sony]] [[PlayStation 3]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geohotps3.blogspot.com/2009/12/real-challenge.html |title=A Real Challenge |publisher=George Hotz |date=December 26, 2009 |accessdate=January 25, 2010}}</ref> a console widely regarded as being the only fully locked and secure system of the [[History of video game consoles (seventh generation)|seventh generation era]]. Hotz opened a blog to document his progress, and five weeks later, on January 22, 2010, he announced that he had successfully hacked the machine by enabling himself read and write access to the machine's system memory and having [[hypervisor]] level access to the machine's processor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geohotps3.blogspot.com |title=On The PlayStation 3 |publisher=George Hotz}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://geohotps3.blogspot.com/2010/01/hello-hypervisor-im-geohot.html |title=Hello hypervisor, I'm geohot |publisher=George Hotz |date=January 22, 2010 |accessdate=January 25, 2010}}</ref> Hotz detailed functions that his work could allow, such as [[homebrew (video games)|homebrew]] and [[PlayStation 2]] [[Video game console emulator|emulation]] (a feature removed by Sony in newer revisions of the console to tackle production costs).<ref name="BBC News">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8478764.stm |title=PlayStation 3 'hacked' by iPhone cracker |publisher=BBC News |date=January 25, 2010 |accessdate=January 25, 2010 |first=Jonathan |last=Fildes}}</ref> On January 26, 2010, Hotz released the [[exploit (computer security)|exploit]] to the public. It was done on the original firmware (OFW) 3.15, then using his codes he made it into a 3.15 CFW, or Custom Firmware. It requires the [[OtherOS]] function of the machine, and consists of a [[Linux kernel]] module and gaining control of the machine's [[hypervisor]] via bus glitching.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geohotps3.blogspot.com/2010/01/heres-your-silver-platter.html |title=Here your silver platter |publisher=George Hotz |date=January 26, 2010 |accessdate=January 27, 2010}}</ref> Hotz wrote that "Sony may have difficulty [[patch (computing)|patch]]ing the exploit". On March 28, 2010, Sony responded by announcing their intention to release a PlayStation 3 [[PlayStation 3 system software|firmware update]] that would remove the [[OtherOS]] feature from all models,<ref>[http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/03/28/ps3-firmware-v3-21-update/ PS3 Firmware (v3.21) Update – PlayStation Blog]</ref> a feature that was already absent on the newer Slim revisions of the machine. Hotz then announced plans of a custom firmware, similar to the custom firmware for the [[PlayStation Portable]], to enable Linux and OtherOS support, while still retaining the features of newer firmwares.

On April 7, 2010, Hotz posted a video on the internet detailing his claimed progress with custom firmware on the machine, and showing a PlayStation 3 running with the OtherOS feature enabled on firmware 3.21. He named his custom firmware as 3.21OO, and suggested that it may also work on newer Slim models of the console. However, he didn't announce a release date for the custom firmware or mention whether he was working on the same hack for the latest firmware version of 3.41.<ref>[http://geohotps3.blogspot.com/2010/04/otheros-supported-on-321oo.html OtherOS Supported on "3.21OO"], April 7, 2010, On the PlayStation 3</ref> It was never released. On July 13, 2010, Hotz posted a message on his Twitter account stating that he was giving up trying to crack the PS3 any further.<ref name="gamingbolt.com">[http://gamingbolt.com/2010/07/13/the-ps3-just-too-difficult-to-crack/ The PS3 just too difficult to crack – GamingBolt.com: Video Game News, Reviews, Previews and Blog]. GamingBolt.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-16.</ref> However, on January 2, 2011, he posted the root keys of the PlayStation 3 on his website.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://psx-scene.com/forums/f6/geohot-here-your-ps3-root-key-now-hello-world-proof-74255/ |title=Geohot: Here is your PS3 Root Key! – Now with "HELLO WORLD" proof! |publisher=PSX-SCENE}}</ref> These keys were later removed from his website as a result of legal action by Sony (see below).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geohot.com/old_index.html |title=keys open doors |publisher=George Hotz}}</ref> On January 6, 2011, he showed a demo of running homebrew applications on PS3 firmware 3.55 without using any jailbreak USB dongles, based on the discovery of the security exploit by the fail0verflow team.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://psx-scene.com/forums/641358-post1211.html |title=Geohot Releases dePKG – Firmware Package Decrypter |publisher=George Hotz |date=December 30, 2010 |accessdate=January 1, 2011}}</ref> On January 7, 2011, he showed off a demo video running homebrew applications on PlayStation 3 custom firmware 3.55.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.coveringweb.com/2011/01/geohot-jailbreaks-playstation-3-with.html |title=Geohot Jailbreaks PlayStation 3 with Custom Firmware 3.55 (Video) |publisher=George Hotz}}</ref> On January 11, 2011, Sony filed an application for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Hotz in the US District Court of Northern California.<ref>[http://www.scribd.com/doc/46739945/Motion-for-TRO Motion for TRO]. Scribd.com (2011-01-12). Retrieved on 2011-02-16.</ref> The timeline of the lawsuit is continued below. On January 14, 2011, Hotz appeared in an interview on G4′s The Loop, where he explained why he jailbroke the Sony PlayStation 3.<ref>[http://www.newsden.net/geohot-vs-sony-ps3-jailbreak-lawsuit-and-the-interview-6008 GeoHot vs Sony – PS3 Jailbreak, Lawsuit and the Interview]. Newsden.net. Retrieved on 2011-02-16.</ref>

===Sony lawsuit===
{{main|Sony Computer Entertainment America v. George Hotz}}
The Sony PS3 console was hacked, or more appropriately "jailbroken", by iPhone hacker, Geohot. He managed to reverse engineer his own PlayStation 3 to run homebrew applications on it. He then later released the method to the public through his site, geohot.com. Sony responded with a lawsuit and demanded social media sites, including YouTube, to hand over IP addresses of people who visited Geohot's social pages and videos; the latter being the case only for those who "watched the video and 'documents reproducing all records or usernames and IP addresses that have posted or published comments in response to the video'". <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/03/geohot-site-unmasking/|title=Judge Lets Sony Unmask Visitors to PS3-Jailbreaking Site}}</ref>

[[PayPal]] has granted Sony access to Geohot's PayPal account,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gamepolitics.com/2011/03/16/george-hotz-paypal-subpoena-limited-california-court-docs-reveal|title=George Hotz PayPal Subpoena Limited to California, Court Docs Reveal}}</ref> and the judge of the case granted Sony permission to view the IP addresses of everyone who visited geohot.com. In April 2011, it was revealed that Sony and Hotz had settled the lawsuit out of court, on the condition that Hotz would never again resume any hacking work on Sony products.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/11/sony-and-playstation-3-jailbreaker-george-hotz-settle-out-of-cou/|title=Sony and PlayStation 3 jailbreaker George Hotz settle out of court}}</ref>

At the end of April 2011 hackers broke into the [[PlayStation Network]] and [[PlayStation Network outage|stole personal information of some 77 million users]]. Hotz denied any responsibility for the attack, and said "Running homebrew and exploring security on your devices is cool, hacking into someone else's server and stealing databases of user info is not cool".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2046627/sony-hacker-denies-playstation-network-exploit|title=Sony hacker denies Playstation Network exploit|last=Dalziel|first=Spencer|date=28 April 2011|work=The Inquirer|accessdate=28 April 2011}}</ref>

==Other accomplishments and recognition==
He was a finalist at the 2005 [[Intel International Science and Engineering Fair|ISEF]] competition in Portland OR with his project "The Mapping Robot". Recognition included interviews on the ''[[Today (NBC program)|Today Show]]'' and ''Larry King''.<ref>[http://www.societyforscience.org/page.aspx?pid=436 Society for Science & the Public – Intel ISEF – 2004 Portland SAO Award Winners]. Societyforscience.org. Retrieved on 2011-02-16.</ref> Hotz was a finalist at the 2005 ISEF competition, with his project "The Googler".<ref>[http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/photos/isef_2005_photos.htm Photos - Intel Science and Engineering Fair 2005]. Intel.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-15.</ref> Continuing with robots, Hotz competed in his school's highly successful Titanium Knights battlebots team. George also worked on his project, "Neuropilot," in which he was able to read [[Electroencephalography|EEG]] signals off his head with hardware from the [[OpenEEG]] project.

Hotz competed in the 2007 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, a science competition for high school students, where his project, entitled "I want a [[Holodeck]]", received awards and prizes in several categories.<ref>[http://www.societyforscience.org/Document.Doc?id=80 Grand Awards Ceremony of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2007]. Intel Education. Retrieved August 24, 2007.</ref> Hotz has received considerable attention in mainstream media, including interviews on the ''Today Show'', [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]], [[CNN]], [[NBC]], [[CBS]], [[G4 (TV channel)|G4]], [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]],<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbRKA5OmtHQ YouTube – Teen 'Unlocks' iPhone From AT&T Network]</ref> [[CNBC]],<ref>[http://www.breitbart.tv/html/4823.html iPhone Hacker Explains How He Did It]. Breitbart.tv (2007-08-24). Retrieved on 2011-04-15.</ref> and articles in several magazines, newspapers, and websites, including [[Forbes]],<ref>[http://members.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0723/060.html Junior R&D - Forbes.com]. Members.forbes.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-15.</ref> and [[BBC]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8478764.stm|title=PlayStation 3 'hacked' by iPhone cracker|work=BBC News|last=Fildes|first=Jonathan|accessdate=2009-01-25|date=January 25, 2010}}</ref>

The Forbes article said Hotz hopes to go into Neuroscience: "hacking the brain," he called it. In March 2008, PC World magazine listed George as one of the top 10 Overachievers under 21.<ref>Tynan, Dan. (2008-03-09) [http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,143201-page,10-c,techindustrytrends/article.html Meet the Whiz Kids: 10 Overachievers Under 21 - Page 10]. PCWorld. Retrieved on 2011-04-15.</ref> He entered the [[Rochester Institute of Technology]] in 2007, quickly after gaining notoriety for hacking the iPhone, but withdrew from the school after 1 quarter. In December 2007, Hotz travelled to Sweden to attend the [[Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar]] and talk about his 3D imaging invention (called Project Holodeck) that netted him a $20,000 Intel scholarship earlier that year.<ref>{{sv icon}} [http://web.archive.org/web/20080423035941/http://www.fuf.org/swe/verksamhet/siyss/participants Participants / SIYSS / Verksamhet / Förbundet Unga Forskare - Förbundet Unga Forskare]. Web.archive.org (2008-04-23). Retrieved on 2011-04-15.</ref> In 2008 he worked at [[Google]] as an intern, on the [[Google Street View]] project.<ref>{{cite web|title=The New 3G iPhone – Unlockable|url=http://teamnirvana.com/blog/the-new-3g-iphone-unlockable.html}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Hotz grew up in [[Glen Rock, New Jersey|Glen Rock]], [[New Jersey]], where he attended the [[Bergen County Academies]], a [[magnet school|magnet]] [[public high school]]. He was in AEDT (Academy for Engineering and Design Technology).<ref>
McKay, Martha. [http://web.archive.org/web/20071014041013/http://northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk4NDgmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcxODU2MTMmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkz "Tech whiz cracks code tying it to AT&T network"], ''[[The Record (Bergen County)]]'', August 24, 2007. Accessed August 27, 2007. "</ref> Hotz is an alumnus of the [[Center for Talented Youth|Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth]] program.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{wikinews|Telephone network access on iPhone unlocked by teen}}
*[http://dukio.com/gadget/ps-jailbreak-enable-otheros.html geohot OtherOS issues]
*[http://thetechjournal.com/electronics/gaming-electronics/geohot-released-ps3-exploitunlock-to-come.xhtml GeoHot Released PS3 Exploit – By TheTechJournal.com]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g23e9e9zOVI The New Video of Unlock (blacksn0w)]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvJ1RGlxe8Q YouTube Video of Hotz's Unlocked iPhone]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-9wLWQ4-uA YouTube Video demo of PlayStation 3 CWF 3.21OO]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20080208175647/http://lpahome.com/ Hotz's Website] (through Internet Archive)
*[http://www.technologymadness.com/?p=299 NJ teen unlocks iPhone + YouTube Video]
*[http://www.iphone-hacks.com/2007/08/page/2/ GeoHot's guide to iPhone unlocking]
*[http://bidoche-lelivre.com/ios-4-1-jailbreak-for-life-do-not-update-yet-shatter-iphone-vlog-101.html Apple ios4 jailbreak video]

{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Hotz, George
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Geohot
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = October 2, 1989
| PLACE OF BIRTH = United States
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotz, George}}
[[Category:1989 births]]
[[Category:American bloggers]]
[[Category:Google employees]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Glen Rock, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Rochester Institute of Technology]]
[[Category:IPhone]]
[[Category:American Internet personalities]]
[[Category:People associated with computer security]]

[[de:George Hotz]]
[[es:George Hotz]]
[[fa:جرج فرانسیس هاتز]]
[[fr:George Hotz]]
[[ko:조지 핫츠]]
[[it:George Hotz]]
[[pl:George Hotz]]
[[pt:George Hotz]]
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[[zh:乔治·霍兹]]

Revision as of 00:18, 19 May 2011

George Hotz
Born
George Francis Hotz

(1989-10-02) October 2, 1989 (age 35)
Glen Rock, New Jersey, USA
NationalityAmerican
Other namesgeohot, million75, mil, dream hax0r
Alma materBergen County Academies

George Francis Hotz, alias geohot, million75 or simply mil, is an American hacker known for unlocking the iPhone, allowing the phone to be used with other wireless carriers, contrary to AT&T and Apple's intent.[1][2] He is also noted for hacking the PlayStation 3 and subsequently being sued by Sony.

Hacking Apple iOS devices

According to Hotz's blog, he traded his unlocked 8 GB iPhone to Terry Daidone, the founder of Certicell, for a Nissan 350Z and three 8 GB iPhones.[3] Hotz said he wanted to give the iPhones to the other members of the team who created the hack with him.[4] Hotz's hardware based unlocking technique has largely been replaced by software unlocking that does not require dis-assembly of the iPhone.[5] On February 8, 2008, Hotz developed the software unlock for the iPhone's new Bootloader Version 4.6 that was previously only achievable with a "testpoint based hardware unlock".[6] On July 3, 2009, Hotz announced purplera1n, the first public software exploit for jailbreaking the iPhone 3GS. Details were posted on his blog.[7]

On October 11, 2009, at 3:33AM Hotz released blackra1n, a jailbreak for all iPhones and iPod Touches. The only caveat was that the iPod touch third generation would need a "tethered jailbreak" to work. On October 25, 2009, Hotz released Blackra1n RC2, an update to his previous blackra1n utility. This version allows MC Model iPod Touch 2G (8 GB iPod Touch, third generation) and new-bootrom iPhone 3GS users to jailbreak their iPod touches as well. (tethered jailbreak only)[8] On October 31, 2009, Hotz announced the impending release of Blackra1n RC3, this version to include blacksn0w which would allow SIM unlock of all iPhones using Blacksn0w RC1.[9] Blacksn0w was originally scheduled for release on November 4, 2009, but due to positive test results it was moved to the 3rd. Blacksn0w was the #1 trending topic on Twitter as requested by GeoHot only moments after its release.

On March 27, 2010, Hotz established a website for his newest jailbreak software, limera1n.[10] Limera1n was rumored to be his newest jailbreaking tool and was released, however, it was later found that Hotz registered another domain at the same time, rubyra1n.com.[11] It is still unknown if rubyra1n will ever be released. On June 24, 2010, Hotz wrote on Twitter that he had no plans to release a new jailbreak. He has told people looking for a jailbreak release to 'keep an eye on Spirit,[12] the currently used program for 3.1.x jailbreaking, which led to the belief there are plans to update the software to allow iOS 4.0 jailbreaking. This however has not had a release date confirmed.[13] On July 10, 2010, Hotz published that he had been able to jailbreak an iPhone 4 running iOS 4.0. As evidence, he provided a picture of the device executing Cydia. This post has since been edited and blocked from public view, in which Hotz stated that the picture was "quite obviously fake", addressing himself to "the haters". On July 13, 2010, Hotz announced his retirement from iDevices hacking, saying that it's not fun as it used to be, and people were taking too serious something he used to do just as a distraction.[14]

On October 8, 2010, Hotz confirmed he was releasing a Jailbreak on 10/11/10; one day after the release of GreenPois0n. He also posted a picture of limera1n running on an iPhone 3G S, iPod Touch fourth generation, iPhone 4 and on the iPad. On October 9, 2010, Hotz released limera1n Beta 1 – without support for the 3GS (due to a problem with the bootrom). Additionally, the exploit has been found to be moderately buggy, even on supported devices.[10] This suspended the release of the SHAtter exploit in the form of greenpois0n, due for release the next day. On the limera1n website, he claims this was to make the Chronic Dev team "do the right thing" – presumably implying that they should save their jailbreak exploit for fifth generation devices. He later went on to release three more betas, containing support for iPhone 3GS models, along with various bug fixes and other stability enhancements. On October 11, 2010, Hotz released what appears to be the final version of his jailbreak (RC1b).[10] Hotz also put on his website that the Mac version of this jailbreak is "coming in 7 years", but was released about 2 weeks later.

Hacking the PlayStation 3

Towards the end of 2009, Hotz announced his efforts to hack the Sony PlayStation 3,[15] a console widely regarded as being the only fully locked and secure system of the seventh generation era. Hotz opened a blog to document his progress, and five weeks later, on January 22, 2010, he announced that he had successfully hacked the machine by enabling himself read and write access to the machine's system memory and having hypervisor level access to the machine's processor.[16][17] Hotz detailed functions that his work could allow, such as homebrew and PlayStation 2 emulation (a feature removed by Sony in newer revisions of the console to tackle production costs).[18] On January 26, 2010, Hotz released the exploit to the public. It was done on the original firmware (OFW) 3.15, then using his codes he made it into a 3.15 CFW, or Custom Firmware. It requires the OtherOS function of the machine, and consists of a Linux kernel module and gaining control of the machine's hypervisor via bus glitching.[19] Hotz wrote that "Sony may have difficulty patching the exploit". On March 28, 2010, Sony responded by announcing their intention to release a PlayStation 3 firmware update that would remove the OtherOS feature from all models,[20] a feature that was already absent on the newer Slim revisions of the machine. Hotz then announced plans of a custom firmware, similar to the custom firmware for the PlayStation Portable, to enable Linux and OtherOS support, while still retaining the features of newer firmwares.

On April 7, 2010, Hotz posted a video on the internet detailing his claimed progress with custom firmware on the machine, and showing a PlayStation 3 running with the OtherOS feature enabled on firmware 3.21. He named his custom firmware as 3.21OO, and suggested that it may also work on newer Slim models of the console. However, he didn't announce a release date for the custom firmware or mention whether he was working on the same hack for the latest firmware version of 3.41.[21] It was never released. On July 13, 2010, Hotz posted a message on his Twitter account stating that he was giving up trying to crack the PS3 any further.[22] However, on January 2, 2011, he posted the root keys of the PlayStation 3 on his website.[23] These keys were later removed from his website as a result of legal action by Sony (see below).[24] On January 6, 2011, he showed a demo of running homebrew applications on PS3 firmware 3.55 without using any jailbreak USB dongles, based on the discovery of the security exploit by the fail0verflow team.[25] On January 7, 2011, he showed off a demo video running homebrew applications on PlayStation 3 custom firmware 3.55.[26] On January 11, 2011, Sony filed an application for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Hotz in the US District Court of Northern California.[27] The timeline of the lawsuit is continued below. On January 14, 2011, Hotz appeared in an interview on G4′s The Loop, where he explained why he jailbroke the Sony PlayStation 3.[28]

Sony lawsuit

Main article: Sony Computer Entertainment America v. George Hotz

The Sony PS3 console was hacked, or more appropriately "jailbroken", by iPhone hacker, Geohot. He managed to reverse engineer his own PlayStation 3 to run homebrew applications on it. He then later released the method to the public through his site, geohot.com. Sony responded with a lawsuit and demanded social media sites, including YouTube, to hand over IP addresses of people who visited Geohot's social pages and videos; the latter being the case only for those who "watched the video and 'documents reproducing all records or usernames and IP addresses that have posted or published comments in response to the video'". [29]

PayPal has granted Sony access to Geohot's PayPal account,[30] and the judge of the case granted Sony permission to view the IP addresses of everyone who visited geohot.com. In April 2011, it was revealed that Sony and Hotz had settled the lawsuit out of court, on the condition that Hotz would never again resume any hacking work on Sony products.[31]

At the end of April 2011 hackers broke into the PlayStation Network and stole personal information of some 77 million users. Hotz denied any responsibility for the attack, and said "Running homebrew and exploring security on your devices is cool, hacking into someone else's server and stealing databases of user info is not cool".[32]

Other accomplishments and recognition

He was a finalist at the 2005 ISEF competition in Portland OR with his project "The Mapping Robot". Recognition included interviews on the Today Show and Larry King.[33] Hotz was a finalist at the 2005 ISEF competition, with his project "The Googler".[34] Continuing with robots, Hotz competed in his school's highly successful Titanium Knights battlebots team. George also worked on his project, "Neuropilot," in which he was able to read EEG signals off his head with hardware from the OpenEEG project.

Hotz competed in the 2007 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, a science competition for high school students, where his project, entitled "I want a Holodeck", received awards and prizes in several categories.[35] Hotz has received considerable attention in mainstream media, including interviews on the Today Show, Fox, CNN, NBC, CBS, G4, ABC,[36] CNBC,[37] and articles in several magazines, newspapers, and websites, including Forbes,[38] and BBC.[39]

The Forbes article said Hotz hopes to go into Neuroscience: "hacking the brain," he called it. In March 2008, PC World magazine listed George as one of the top 10 Overachievers under 21.[40] He entered the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2007, quickly after gaining notoriety for hacking the iPhone, but withdrew from the school after 1 quarter. In December 2007, Hotz travelled to Sweden to attend the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar and talk about his 3D imaging invention (called Project Holodeck) that netted him a $20,000 Intel scholarship earlier that year.[41] In 2008 he worked at Google as an intern, on the Google Street View project.[42]

Personal life

Hotz grew up in Glen Rock, New Jersey, where he attended the Bergen County Academies, a magnet public high school. He was in AEDT (Academy for Engineering and Design Technology).[43] Hotz is an alumnus of the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth program.

References

  1. ^ Stone, Brad (August 25, 2007). "With Software and Soldering, AT&T's Lock on iPhone Is Undone". New York Times. p. C-1. Retrieved 2010-04-03. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Interview with 17 year old iPhone hacker". CNBC. September 30, 2007.
  3. ^ On the iPhone: THE iPhone HAS BEEN TRADED, Accessed May 3, 2008.
  4. ^ On the iPhone: Postmortem. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
  5. ^ Code to unlock iPhone cracked. Retrieved October 11, 2007.
  6. ^ On the iPhone: 11246unlock, good enough for the prize
  7. ^ On the iPhone
  8. ^ On the iPhone: blackra1n is live
  9. ^ On the iPhone: An Information Campaign
  10. ^ a b c Limera1n
  11. ^ Rubyra1n
  12. ^ Jailbrake by Spirit
  13. ^ Geohot (GeoHot) on Twitter. Twitter.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-16.
  14. ^ GeoHot says Goodbye to iPhone Community. Tech-exclusive.com (2010-07-13). Retrieved on 2011-04-15.
  15. ^ "A Real Challenge". George Hotz. December 26, 2009. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
  16. ^ "On The PlayStation 3". George Hotz.
  17. ^ "Hello hypervisor, I'm geohot". George Hotz. January 22, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
  18. ^ Fildes, Jonathan (January 25, 2010). "PlayStation 3 'hacked' by iPhone cracker". BBC News. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
  19. ^ "Here your silver platter". George Hotz. January 26, 2010. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  20. ^ PS3 Firmware (v3.21) Update – PlayStation Blog
  21. ^ OtherOS Supported on "3.21OO", April 7, 2010, On the PlayStation 3
  22. ^ The PS3 just too difficult to crack – GamingBolt.com: Video Game News, Reviews, Previews and Blog. GamingBolt.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-16.
  23. ^ "Geohot: Here is your PS3 Root Key! – Now with "HELLO WORLD" proof!". PSX-SCENE.
  24. ^ "keys open doors". George Hotz.
  25. ^ "Geohot Releases dePKG – Firmware Package Decrypter". George Hotz. December 30, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  26. ^ "Geohot Jailbreaks PlayStation 3 with Custom Firmware 3.55 (Video)". George Hotz.
  27. ^ Motion for TRO. Scribd.com (2011-01-12). Retrieved on 2011-02-16.
  28. ^ GeoHot vs Sony – PS3 Jailbreak, Lawsuit and the Interview. Newsden.net. Retrieved on 2011-02-16.
  29. ^ "Judge Lets Sony Unmask Visitors to PS3-Jailbreaking Site".
  30. ^ "George Hotz PayPal Subpoena Limited to California, Court Docs Reveal".
  31. ^ "Sony and PlayStation 3 jailbreaker George Hotz settle out of court".
  32. ^ Dalziel, Spencer (28 April 2011). "Sony hacker denies Playstation Network exploit". The Inquirer. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  33. ^ Society for Science & the Public – Intel ISEF – 2004 Portland SAO Award Winners. Societyforscience.org. Retrieved on 2011-02-16.
  34. ^ Photos - Intel Science and Engineering Fair 2005. Intel.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-15.
  35. ^ Grand Awards Ceremony of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2007. Intel Education. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
  36. ^ YouTube – Teen 'Unlocks' iPhone From AT&T Network
  37. ^ iPhone Hacker Explains How He Did It. Breitbart.tv (2007-08-24). Retrieved on 2011-04-15.
  38. ^ Junior R&D - Forbes.com. Members.forbes.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-15.
  39. ^ Fildes, Jonathan (January 25, 2010). "PlayStation 3 'hacked' by iPhone cracker". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  40. ^ Tynan, Dan. (2008-03-09) Meet the Whiz Kids: 10 Overachievers Under 21 - Page 10. PCWorld. Retrieved on 2011-04-15.
  41. ^ Template:Sv icon Participants / SIYSS / Verksamhet / Förbundet Unga Forskare - Förbundet Unga Forskare. Web.archive.org (2008-04-23). Retrieved on 2011-04-15.
  42. ^ "The New 3G iPhone – Unlockable".
  43. ^ McKay, Martha. "Tech whiz cracks code tying it to AT&T network", The Record (Bergen County), August 24, 2007. Accessed August 27, 2007. "
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