PS3 Homebrew – PlayStation 3 Flash ECC Algorithm Reversed

SephXII has tipped us off on some great news on the PS3 homebrew development front. The guys at PS3 News have reported that they have finally succeeded in reversing the PS3’s Flash ECC Algorithm. What does this mean for us and the PS3 homebrew community? Read more after the jump.

Breaking news on the PS3 homebrew front. The guys at PS3 News have reversed the PS3 Flash ECC Algorithm. That’s right, there’s progress in PS3 development land.

But first, a small technical explanation. They weren’t able to modify any data on the flash chips due to the ECC, which essentially makes sure that data aren’t changed or corrupted in the block. If the ECC does detect such action, it then results into error. So modifying anything would be futile at best because then the system would not boot.

What they did successfully do, however, is to use the PS3 to write data to the flush, dump it with the right ECC, and the rewrite it where needed. It’s a slow and time consuming process, but the payoff is huge.

According to the team, “After multiple tests done by NDT to see what the ECC algorithm was when the block was filled with some magic data, our very own RPS was able to reverse the algorithm! “

What’s all the excitement with this? Well for one, it doesn’t have to take eons anymore to edit a flash dump, regen the ECC and flash it onto the PS3 so that you can tweak with flash changes. Apart from that, they’ve also discovered where the encrypted keys are stored for the following: SELF’s, PKG’s, and BD Pairin, among other things.

More good things are about to come on this bit of PS3 homebrew development action, so do stay tuned for more. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this one.

Thanks to tipster SephXII for the heads up!

Via PS3 News