Infinity Ward: PS3 Hack Opens Call of Duty Online Exploits

Developer Infinity Ward has warned players of the PS3 versions of Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2 that the recent key-level hack to the PS3 has opened the titles up to online exploits that can't be fixed with a simple patch. Hacked servers reportedly have the ability to reset players' accumulated stats and unlocked abilities, as well as granting players temporary abilities such as auto-aiming and super-speed. Writing on the developer's official forums, Infinity Ward creative strategist Robert Bowling said that while the company is looking into ways to fix the problem, they may be at the mercy of Sony to correct for the broader PS3 hack first. "Games rely on the security of the encryption on the platforms they're played on," Bowling writes. "Therefore, updates to the game through patches will not resolve this problem completely, unless the security exploit itself is resolved on the platform." While Bowling said future Infinity Ward games will include additional security measures to prevent such security breaches, legacy Call of Duty games are harder to fix, and are attracting heavy attention from hackers due to the games' popularity. Bowling recommends players stick with private matches with known players for the time being, and said that players should report hacked servers they encounter to Sony. Late last month, a group of hackers obtained and released information on the private security key used by Sony to prevent unauthorized code from being run on the system. The nature of the hack makes it difficult to fix with a downloadable firmware update or any method short of replacing the hardware, according to the hackers. Sony moved for a restraining order against those hackers last week, in a case that has been held up by jurisdictional issues.