George Hotz, infamous for hacking Apple's iPhone as a teenager has claimed to have done the same to the PlayStation 3

Hotz told BBC news that he was still refining the technique, and intended to post details of the hack online. "It's supposed to be unhackable - but nothing is unhackable," Hotz told the BBC. "I can now do whatever I want with the system. It's like I've got an awesome new power - I'm just not sure how to wield it."

Although not yet at the stage where illegally copied games would run on the system, Hotz admitted that that could well be a by-product of the hack, adding "I'm not going to personally have anything to do with that." Hotz claimed his motivations were "curiosity" and "opening up the platform," but we have to question whether posting said details online is particularly wise.

Pirates, modders, and malicious hackers could then take the PS3 down a route that would almost definitely result in lost revenue for Sony and third-party publishers. A Sony spokesman said: "We are investigating the report and will clarify the situation once we have more information."

We certainly don't condone piracy, and we can't recommend tinkering with the insides of your console either - it voids the warranty for one, and you could do irreparable damage. Time will tell if Hotz' claims are well-founded...

[image via ifixit]