I really hope the rumors aren't true, even though I know they probably are.
The Sony PR people are going to shift the blame to the hackers for having a protocol and server so susceptible to privilege escalation. I don't agree with what the hackers have done, but in the end it will serve to only reenforce the belief that its OK, nay necessary, that end users are unable to mod a device they own. And before someone screams EULA, I'm talking about the opinion in the collective consciousness in general, not specific to the PS3.
It doesn't matter if consumers mod their console or not. What the rumors suggest is that Sony had a vulnerability due to the fact that they allowed their developer consoles loosely restricted access to live data. Just because hackers found it doesn't mean that an unscrupulous developer with a dev console couldn't do the same thing. An escalation of priveleges attack like that is a ticking time bomb waiting to be found.
Long story short, Sony doesn't understand security. This is the second time in less than a year that their security through obscurity techniques have landed them with a mess.
Oh, I don't disagree at all. My take is that Sony will continue to ignore their terrible lack of security and lay all the blame at the feet of the people who happened to exploit their terrible security. As you say, Sony makes a mess of security. I don't think they'll own up to the fault (or at least night all of it). As you say it doesn't matter if consumers mod their console, my fear is that regardless of this fact the breach will still be used to further argue against modding.
The Sony PR people are going to shift the blame to the hackers for having a protocol and server so susceptible to privilege escalation. I don't agree with what the hackers have done, but in the end it will serve to only reenforce the belief that its OK, nay necessary, that end users are unable to mod a device they own. And before someone screams EULA, I'm talking about the opinion in the collective consciousness in general, not specific to the PS3.