Hacking The Xbox:
An Introduction to Reverse Engineering
Book Review

By Dale Farris, Secretary Golden Triangle PC Club August 2003 General Overview This hands-on guide to hacking an Xbox video game console machine begins with step-by-step tutorials on hardware modifications that teach basic hacking techniques, as well as essential reverse engineering skills. The book progresses into a discussion of the Xbox security mechanisms and other advanced hacking topics, with an emphasis on educating readers on the important subjects of computer security and reverse engineering. "Hacking the Xbox" includes numerous practical guides, such as where to get hacking gear, soldering techniques, debugging tips and an Xbox hardware reference guide. "Hacking the Xbox" also confronts the social and political issues facing today's hacker by looking forward and discussing the impact of today's legal challenges on legitimate reverse engineering activities. The book includes a chapter written by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) about the rights and responsibilities of hackers, and concludes by discussing the latest trends and vulnerabilities in secure PC platforms. Background to the Book Hacker-engineer Andrew "Bunnie" Huang has said he pre-sold between 400 and 500 copies of his self-published tell-all "Hacking the Xbox: an Introduction to Reverse Engineering," weeks before its scheduled publication. The original publisher backed out of the deal because of fear of lawsuits related to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and the author proceeded with his self-publishing. Now, thanks to the good folks with No Starch Press, even more readers can take advantage of the information in the book. Author Huang was not able to get Microsoft's blessing for his book, "Hacking the Xbox," which goes beyond discussing a single hacking technique. The book aims to teach readers how to think like a hardware hacker, using the internal secrets of the game console the way a medical school teacher uses Gray's Anatomy. With the boundaries of federal copyright law, particularly the DMCA, unclear, Huang says tech-publishing house John Wiley & Sons got cold feet and withdrew its plans to publish the book. He dug into his own pockets to fund a print run of 1,000 books. Huang began accepting credit cards through his website, and soon sold nearly half of his initial print run through a PayPal account. With the solid support of No Starch Press, Huang's important contribution is now much more likely to succeed, as the distribution of the book will significantly grow, thus reaching more interested readers. Anyone interested in the Xbox will definitely want to give serious consideration to Huang's book. About Modifying an Xbox With chapters on "Soldering Techniques" and "Installing a Blue LED," Huang's how-to may not seem an obvious candidate for joining the list of banned books. Microsoft, the maker of the Xbox, has taken a dim view of home modifications of the game console, focusing its litigious ire in particular on "mod chips" that allow Xbox owners to run software that Microsoft has not approved and licensed. With a mod chip installed, users can run everything from virtual juke boxes to the Linux operating system on the game platform, as well as pirated copies of Xbox games. Last year, a Microsoft lawsuit temporarily shut down the Hong Kong-based company Lik Sang, which sold mod chips over the Internet. Recently, mod chip entrepreneur David Rocci was sentenced to five months in federal custody for conspiracy to violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Rocci marketed his mod chips to the pirate community through a Web site he ran that provided up-to-date information on what games were available in pirated form. Author Huang's book describes some types of mod chips, explains how they work, and what lessons they offer designers of secure hardware platforms. For example, the "Matrix" chip installs without solder over a test port manufacturers left on the Xbox motherboard. "You don't leave these test structures on the motherboard, if you want it secure," says Huang. Another chapter helps readers replace the machine's firmware, a mod chip trick used by sophisticated pirates and tinkerers. "They can be used by the pirating community, and they can be used by the Linux community, so the chapter that talks about firmware devices plays to the Linux community," says Huang. "I believe that should be a legal activity." The book also revisits a technique that cemented Huang's reputation as a hardware hacker last year. This involves building custom hardware to intercept an encryption key as it crosses the Xbox's internal high-speed bus. To avoid legal complications, Huang published his research paper on the technique only after receiving permission from Microsoft, something he negotiated with the help of EFF attorney Lee Tien. "To get the paper published in the first place we had to negotiate a legal mine field," say Tien, who went on to contribute a chapter on the legalities of reverse engineering to Huang's book. Be Forewarned Lest you be mistaken about what this book is about, remember that opening your Xbox will void the warranty. Fitting any of the current mod chips requires soldering some 32 wires to the motherboard. Screw it up and you have a $200 paperweight. A number of websites report that Xbox modification chips have recently gone on sale, which may make the machine a more tempting buy. This will certainly stimulate more interest in Huang's "Hacking the Xbox." According to xboxhackz.com, which is offering modification toolkits, users have a choice of two chips to enhance the functionality of the console. First to market is the Xtender chip, available for $79. Its nearest rival, the Enigmah-X, costs $10 less. Both offer similar functionality, allowing you to play imported games, backups, and copied games, as well as unsigned code, making them popular among less scrupulous users. Both mod chip makers also claim to have region-free DVD mechanisms in the pipeline for their relative kits. Although the arrival of the chips make consoles more popular with the pirated games community, they are not thought to be a major threat to the console makers. Special Features The Xbox video game console from Microsoft is an exciting piece of hardware, and not just because it can play the latest video games. The powerful Xbox has the potential to be used as a PC, an all-in-one media player, or even a web server. Unfortunately there are few books that teach a reader how to explore and modify the Xbox. Huang's "Hacking the Xbox" is intended to fill the need for a practical guide to understanding and reverse engineering modern computers - a handbook for a new generation of hackers. Huang's ultimate goal with this important book is to provide educational value to readers, and he succeeds in this effort. The book focuses on introducing basic hacking techniques - soldering, reverse engineering, debugging - to novice hackers, while providing hardware references and insight that may be useful to more seasoned hackers. With nearly 10 million Xbox units sold, as of the date of this review, this presents a solid base of potential Xbox owners with interest in maximizing the potential out of their Xbox. Despite the bear market for technology in general, the video game hardware, software, and accessories market had a landmark year in 2002, hitting a total dollar sales of $10.3 billion - a 10% increase over 2001 (according to NPDFunworld). This is comparable to the recording industry's sales of $13 billion in the U.S. in 2001. Author Huang provides a super concise history of the video game industry, leading to the venture by Microsoft into this lucrative business with their release of the Xbox. With its important impact on this vital gaming industry, the Xbox has naturally influenced many owners to further explore the insides of the machine in order to both learn how to ramp up its power, but also learn how computers and video game consoles actually work. Table of Contents The thirteen (13) chapters include the following titles. 1: Voiding The Warranty 2: Thinking Inside The Box 3: Installing a Blue LED 4: Building a USB Adapter 5: Replacing a Broken Power Supply 6: The Best Xbox Game: Security Hacking 7: A Brief Primer on Security 8: Reverse Engineering Xbox Security 9: Sneaking In the Back Door 10: More Hardware Projects 11: Developing Software for the Xbox 12: Caveat Hacker 13: Onward! In addition, the Appendix contains 6 sections, including: Where to Get Your Hacking Gear Soldering Techniques Getting Into PCB Layout Getting Started with FPGAs Debugging: Hints and Tips Xbox Hardware Reference Target Readers The focus in "Hacking the Xbox" is on learning how to hack, or modify the workings of Microsoft's Xbox video console game machine. With the heated rivalry now in the video game industry between long-time leaders Sony (Playstation 2) and Nintendo (GameCube) further stirred by Microsoft's dramatic entry into this multi-billion dollar business, little wonder there is such a strong interest in finding out how these powerful gaming machines work, in order to make them do run games better, or operate differently. Author Huang's important book responds to the growing interest among the hundreds of thousands of Xbox owners, especially those with a hankering to tinker around with the insides of their Xbox. Of course, following along with many of the ideas in this book means you will most certainly void the existing warranty on your Xbox. However, among the many interested readers interested in hacking their Xbox, this warranty issue is of little consequence. On the other hand, if you enjoy just playing the video games designed for the Xbox, and are not inclined to modify the Xbox hardware, then the book may still be of passing interest, as you can read about the fascinating world of video game console hacking. Book Contents 288 pages; tables; figures; b/w photos; appendix; index Author Andrew "Bunnie" Huang About the Author Andrew Shane Huang, aka "Bunnie," is Asian and was born in 1975 and calls Kalamazoo, Michigan his home. He finished his Ph.D. dissertation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working in Tom Knight's Project Aries research group. His interests include all aspects of moving information between processors -- the physics of communication, high speed signaling, reliability, fault tolerance, protocols, data placement, coherence (or lack thereof), and APIs. One of the technologies used in his project is PIM (processor-in-memory) technology. The idea is that by integrating processors into memory at the chip level, one can achieve several orders of magnitude more bandwidth -- in fact, bandwidth that scales with memory size -- and an order of magnitude decrease in latency. This places the idea of getting rid of data caches within the realm of consideration, an important step in large multi-processor systems where cache coherence requirements become a limiting factor. Andrew did his undergraduate studies at MIT as well. As an undergraduate, he lived at Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. He was vice president of the fraternity, and he looks forward to being an active alumnus. In between and all through his undergraduate and graduate studies, he has tried to keep in touch with industry through various internships and employment opportunities. He also has worked for some companies you may have heard of, like Intel, Qualcomm, SGI, and many you have not (E-Ink, Microdisplay, Mobilian, and Solana Technology Development (now Verance)). ISBN August 2003 - First Edition 1-59327-029-1 List Price $24.99 $37.99 CAN About Reverse Engineering You are actually allowed by law to reverse engineer copyrighted code, so long as it is necessary to discover the ideas or functional elements behind the code. However, author Huang is still not allowed to post copyrighted code for free distribution. About No Starch Press San Francisco based No Starch Press, Inc., publisher of such best-selling titles as "Steal This Computer Book 3," "The Book of JavaScript," and "The Linux Cookbook," is an independent publishing company committed to producing readable, information-packed computer books that make a difference. No Starch focuses on Open Source, Web development, computer security, programming tools, and alternative operating systems. No Starch authors are highly regarded experts who have the rare ability to write about complex topics clearly and concisely. As a result, No Starch books share a no-nonsense manner that both educates and entertains. The Linux Journal Press series offers readers books on cutting-edge Open Source topics that make a difference, in an effort to advance the acceptance and usability of Linux. Recent titles include "The Book of Zope," "Programming Linux Games," and "The Linux Cookbook." Linux Journal Press titles are developed in partnership with Linux Journal. The No Starch international distribution network brings their books to all major English-language and critical non-English language markets. Their U.S. distributor, Publishers Group West (PGW), is the largest U.S. distributor for independent book publishers. PGW sells to all major wholesalers (Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Bookazine, Koen, etc.), national chains and independents, online booksellers, and academic and technical bookstores. No Starch also aggressively pursues sales in non-traditional channels, including corporate and premium sales, bulk sales, and book clubs. The No Starch international distributors (including JGA in Canada, Computer Bookshops in the UK, Woodslane in Australia/New Zealand) reach all major English and non-English markets with large technical populations. They also maintain extensive contacts with international publishers who translate their books and bring them to their markets in their local language. William Pollock, founder and publisher of No Starch Press, Inc. (and co-founder of APress) has over fifteen years of book publishing experience. No Starch Press benefits from his experience in professional reference, scientific, college, and trade publishing. Mr. Pollock has worked his way up through the publishing ranks from editorial assistant, to sales representative, to acquisitions editor, to publisher. He knows the book publishing business from the ground up. 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