A new interview with the infamous PS3 hacker reveals that Hotz at one point had a confidential meeting with Sony.
George “Geohotz” Hotz is the subject of a new expose in the New Yorker, and it’s revealed that after he reached a legal settlement with Sony, the company wanted to pick his brain.
Hotz shot to online stardom last year as the cener of attention in a highly publicized lawsuit from Sony. Hotz had been publishing information on how to hack the PS3, which Sony said was a violation of the console’s terms of use.
Supporters of Hotz said Sony was going too far and had no reason to sue him. Attackers took down various Sony websites and servers in protest to the Hotz case.
Not everyone agreed with Hotz, though. Some said he knowingly broke the rules, facilitated illegal software piracy, and should be tried to the full extent of the law.
In the end, the case was settled for less than a slap on the wrist. Hotz merely had to agree to end his hacking exploits.
But a couple months later, Sony reached out to him and asked him all sorts of questions, hoping to gain insights that it could use to help the company prevent future attacks.
He said he was worried there would be lawyers present, but in fact he really just met with what he described as “respectful” PS3 engineers who wanted to learn from him.
Sony SVP Jim Kennedy explained the meeting, saying, “The last year has demonstrated how sophisticated cybercriminals can be. We are always interested in exploring all avenues to better safeguard our systems and protect consumers.”
Hotz went on to land a job that most people would kill for – an engineering position at Facebook. But he ended up quitting because he didn’t like the monotony of office life. Most recently, Hotz was arrested for marijuana possession.
