Hacking the Xbox

CHAPTER 6
The Best Xbox
Game: Security
Hacking
The next step beyond modifying and tweaking the Xbox hardware is taking
control of the Xbox hardware. Unfortunately, gaining control of the
hardware is not as easy as one might think. The designers of the Xbox put a
great deal of thought into securing the hardware against sophisticated
software attacks as well as most simple hardware attacks. The Xbox’s security
mechanisms are an artifact of its digital rights management architecture.
Note
In principle, applying hardware to “fair-use” purposes,
such as running your own homebrew programs, should
not be illegal. However, the relationship between fair use,
secured hardware, and the relatively new copyright control
circumvention laws is still unclear. Chapter 12, “Caveat
Hacker,” discusses the legal issues of hacking in more
detail.
There are many ways around the Xbox’s security measures. In this chapter
and in Chapter 8, “Reverse Engineering Xbox Security,” I tell the story
of my adventures mapping out the Xbox security system. I write not
only about the successes, but also about the failures I encountered, so that
you can learn from my experiences. Chapter 9, “Sneaking in the
Backdoor,” explains some approaches taken by others to get around the
Xbox’s security measures. Chapter 7, “A Brief Primer on Security,”
provides the background necessary to appreciate Chapters 8 and 9.