Hackers crack and kill the PSP

The first hackers to crack Sony's must-have gadget, the PSP, have created code that will kill the handheld console and render it unusable.

The Trojan application which exploits a picture file vulnerability is the result of lengthy attempts to break the code of the gadget and modify its operating system.

Eric Chien of Symantec told silicon.com the code is not self-replicating and can only affect users who actively elect to download it onto their machine.

"It deletes four key directories and once those are deleted the device no longer works," said Chien. "It's a brick and as far as we know there is no way to reset the hardware."

As with attempts to run Linux on Microsoft's Xbox there have been concerted efforts in the geek community to modify the PSP.

"This is not a big threat," said Chien. "But the people who are going to get this are people trying to mod their PSP."

The code which is appearing on forums was posted as the work of a group called PSP Team, however Chien told silicon.com they have disavowed all knowledge of the crack.