4 ms·

Are you referring to just the Kinect or do you also need the Xbox?

daeken 16y ago
I'd need both for it. Been thinking through the best way to hack it, which really comes down to: take control over the Kinect software (even just being able to see the binary would be ok, but being able to modify it would be optimal), MITM the USB connection, and work from there. I believe they're doing considerable processing on the Kinect itself, as that's the only way to justify the 512MB RAM onboard. Will be interesting to see what the actual data it sends back is. Edit: Big reading fail on my part; 512Mbit, not 512MB. That's much more in line with what I'd expect from a device not doing a whole lot.
- jbermudes 16y ago
  It's going to be difficult to do a MITM attack because iirc, the 360 encrypts the data going over USB so that 3rd-party peripheral makers have to get a license from Microsoft to make a supported peripheral. Of course there always seems to be some sort of chink in the armor like with Wii. But I'm sure Microsoft is probably a lot better at writing operating systems compared to someone like Nintendo. (To those who are interested in this type of thing: In the Wii's case it was using a pair of tweezers to glitch the memory chip into spewing Wii OS code that revealed that Nintendo was using strncmp to compare SHA1 hashes instead of memcmp which rendered the entire authentication system open to attack because if you can create a hash that has a leading null-byte then it will not be compared. So even though all games and firmware updates were RSA signed, this exploit bypassed everything. )
  - daeken 16y ago
    Interesting. I wonder whether the crypto is done in software or in hardware. If it's done in software, that's not so bad, but reversing hardware at that level isn't my strong point. Now I want to do this even more...
    - eru 16y ago
      Where do you live? I have access to an XBox in Cambridge, UK. (And my housemates have worked on the Kinectimals game.)
      - daeken 16y ago
        I'm in NYC (just moved here yesterday). I may well pick one up once I get settled in an apartment. Was planning on grabbing a PS3, but I don't think I can resist the temptation.

I'd need both for it. Been thinking through the best way to hack it, which really comes down to: take control over the Kinect software (even just being able to see the binary would be ok, but being able to modify it would be optimal), MITM the USB connection, and work from there. I believe they're doing considerable processing on the Kinect itself, as that's the only way to justify the 512MB RAM onboard. Will be interesting to see what the actual data it sends back is. Edit: Big reading fail on my part; 512Mbit, not 512MB. That's much more in line with what I'd expect from a device not doing a whole lot.

jbermudes 16y ago
It's going to be difficult to do a MITM attack because iirc, the 360 encrypts the data going over USB so that 3rd-party peripheral makers have to get a license from Microsoft to make a supported peripheral. Of course there always seems to be some sort of chink in the armor like with Wii. But I'm sure Microsoft is probably a lot better at writing operating systems compared to someone like Nintendo. (To those who are interested in this type of thing: In the Wii's case it was using a pair of tweezers to glitch the memory chip into spewing Wii OS code that revealed that Nintendo was using strncmp to compare SHA1 hashes instead of memcmp which rendered the entire authentication system open to attack because if you can create a hash that has a leading null-byte then it will not be compared. So even though all games and firmware updates were RSA signed, this exploit bypassed everything. )
- daeken 16y ago
  Interesting. I wonder whether the crypto is done in software or in hardware. If it's done in software, that's not so bad, but reversing hardware at that level isn't my strong point. Now I want to do this even more...
  - eru 16y ago
    Where do you live? I have access to an XBox in Cambridge, UK. (And my housemates have worked on the Kinectimals game.)
    - daeken 16y ago
      I'm in NYC (just moved here yesterday). I may well pick one up once I get settled in an apartment. Was planning on grabbing a PS3, but I don't think I can resist the temptation.