Crucial security information of Sony's PlayStation 3 has been leaked online, making it easier for users to play pirated games on the device. Although unlocking games consoles is a common way for users to open up the system and play not original games, such efforts have been quickly thwarted by Sony via new firmware releases for the PS3.

However, this time the hack could be more serious, as hackers have published online the so-called LVO decryption keys, which are used by PS3 in order to decrypt any firmware update. Knowing the LVO key means that any system update released by Sony could be decrypted with little effort.

An official statement from Sony is due shortly.