[ EEPI-Discuss ] Re: One Week to Shattered Security: Lessons From the Sony PSP Exploit Saga

["Craig A. Finseth" <fin@finseth.com>]

	...
   But it's also very much in Sony's interest to ensure the
   operational security of the unit by avoiding the execution of
   programs that can turn the units into "bricks" (to use the popular
   term for devices whose firmware has been corrupted beyond users'
   capability to self-repair).  Misbehaving programs can smash the
	...

Every product ever made can be bricked (and I'm talking about
everything from computers to dustpans).  This is a fact of life.  Do
any of you remember the MDA settings that would cause an original (and
most follow on) IBM PCs to kill a monitor?  While it was an exposure,
I don't recall it bankrupting IBM.

If Sony is worried about customers who abuse those products then
attempting to return them for repair under warranty, they should say
so up front.  They also don't need to add features (such as updatable
ROMs) that expose themselves to this hazard.

Craig

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