Sony has become aware of a new PlayStation 3 security nightmare after a day in which a brand new, PSN-enabled custom firmware was released for hacked consoles, swiftly followed up by publication of the console's LV0 decryption keys - which some say blows the system wide open. The release of the new custom firmware - and the LV0 decryption keys in particular - poses serious issues. 

While Sony will almost certainly change the PSN passphrase once again in the upcoming 4.30 update, the reveal of the LV0 key basically means that any system update released by Sony going forward can be decrypted with little or no effort whatsoever. Options Sony has in battling this leak are limited - every PS3 out there needs to be able to decrypt any firmware download package in order for the console to be updated (a 2006 launch PS3 can still update directly to the latest software).

The release of the LV0 key allows for that to be achieved on PC, with the CoreOS and XMB files then re-encrypted using the existing 3.55 keys in order to be run on hacked consoles. So just how did LV0 come to be released at all? The original hackers who first found the master key - calling themselves "The Three Tuskateers" - apparently sat on its discovery for some time. However, the information leaked and ended up being the means by which a new Chinese hacking outfit - dubbed "BlueDiskCFW" planned to charge for and release new custom firmware updates. To stop these people profiteering from their work, the "Muskateers" released the LV0 key and within 24 hours, a free CFW update was released.