According to Sony developer relations, the consumer version of the
PSP physically can’t process unencrypted code due to mandatory
hardware AES decryption. It’s not just the boot process you have to
bypass as it was with the PS2. At this point I highly doubt this has
been circumvented. Down the road it may be possible with a mod-chip or
a reverse engineered flash of sorts.
Is this confusing to anyone other than myself? I don't know much about the internals of the PSP as every console these days is based on some kind of standard processor with "special features" but the whole "can’t process unencrypted code due to mandatory hardware AES decryption" bit just doesn't feel right to me. What with the ability to process JPEGs and MP3s and such...
Somebody tell me if I'm off base, but it feels like that's a rumor Sony would like people to believe.
"the consumer version of the
PSP physically can’t process unencrypted code due to mandatory
hardware AES decryption"
Look at this part specifically:
"can't process unencrypted code".
JPG files and MP3 files are data, not code. So they can be read in, as data. However, from working with processors..
Unless there is an internal AES encoding in the CPU itself, that can tell the difference between reading in data and taking an action based on it - and reading in code itself and requring de-encryption of it.. Which I doubt because from all looks, they are using standard processors with well known opcodes.
fireether wrote:Unless there is an internal AES encoding in the CPU itself, that can tell the difference between reading in data and taking an action based on it - and reading in code itself and requring de-encryption of it.. Which I doubt because from all looks, they are using standard processors with well known opcodes.
Of course this is pretty much describing harvard architecture... Seperation of code and data. So then is the CPU Von Neumann or Harvard?
In theory it could be done, with a MMU, and with tight kernel control over what pages get the executable bit and where they came from -- but that doesn't make it "physically impossible". As far as I know, it's a modified R4k with 32mb dram and 32 mb flash. They do mention a hardware security subsystem, though, but I assumed that was just crypto in hardware for when it's needed.
Hmm... I personally think that the psp OS handles the encryption...
But then there has to be a special 1.5 firmware for the PSP devkit...
Anyone knows something about that ?
Malloc seems to work in a gaming company, and they must have the devkit to build games...
According to Sony developer relations, the consumer version of the
PSP physically can’t process unencrypted code due to mandatory
hardware AES decryption. It’s not just the boot process you have to
bypass as it was with the PS2. At this point I highly doubt this has
been circumvented. Down the road it may be possible with a mod-chip or
a reverse engineered flash of sorts.
it cannot run un-PACKAGED code. it processes unencrypted code all the time...technicaly
