Original Sony PlayStation 2 security chip ‘broken wide open’ after 26 years — chemical decapping and four years of reverse engineering unlocks MechaCon secrets
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Canadian retro hardware and software enthusiast DiscoStarslayer was the manic mind behind the cracking open of the CXP102064 MechaCon chip, which arrived inside the ‘PS2 Fat’ from 1999. It also played a significant part in Sony’s game optical disc security, supporting “Magic Gate [memory card] and KELF file [executable] decryption among other things,” notes the PSDev Wiki.
- ▪When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
- ▪Canadian retro hardware and software enthusiast DiscoStarslayer was the manic mind behind the cracking open of the CXP102064 MechaCon chip, which arrived inside the ‘PS2 Fat’ from 1999.
- ▪It also played a significant part in Sony’s game optical disc security, supporting “Magic Gate [memory card] and KELF file [executable] decryption among other things,” notes the PSDev Wiki.
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| Publication time | Wed, 16 Sep 2026 10:30:00 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-09-16T10:38:41.450Z |
| Last seen | 2026-09-16T10:38:41.450Z |
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Video Games Console Gaming PlayStation Original Sony PlayStation 2 security chip ‘broken wide open’ after 26 years — chemical decapping and four years of reverse engineering unlocks MechaCon secrets News By Mark Tyson Published 16 September 2026 Breakthrough will improve hardware preservation, repair, and emulation projects. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: DiscoStarslayer ) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter The ‘magic security chip’ inside the original PlayStation 2 has been successfully reverse-engineered and dumped.
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