Hackers claim to have cracked new "secure" Xbox

By Steve Malone

Posted on 14 Oct 2002 at 12:01

Two competing teams of hackers claim to have cracked the new 'secure' Version 2 of the Xbox in under a week.

The teams claim that their modifications opens the door to allow the Xbox to perform a number of tricks that Microsoft and graphics chip designer Nvidia would prefer it didn't.

Team Xecuter say that their device, which they expect to be selling shortly at around $45 will enable modifiers to run alternate operating systems like Linux and play 'homebrew' code as well as imports and code from all regions.

The Xboxhacker BBS was not far behind. The site claims it has been able to 'normalise' an Xbox to run Xbox Linux code.

Although these claims have yet to be tested, it would seem to be a blow to Nvidia who are said to be responsible for the security of the machine. It also means that the hackers have probably bought themselves another six months or so before the developers can come up with a more 'secure' patch.