Program Attacking PlayStation Portables

Security software experts identified a malicious program targeting Sony Corp.’s PlayStation Portable systems that is the first so-called Trojan horse found in video game devices.

Symantec Corp. said Thursday that the Trojan horse represented a low-level threat, affecting only machines that users have modified with their own code. A Trojan horse is a destructive program that masquerades as a harmless application.

“It does not affect the average user,” said Eric Chien, a principal software engineer at Symantec. “This is the first time we have seen a Trojan on a gaming device.”

The malevolent program says it is a file named “EXPLOIT 2G PSP Team V1.RAR” that allows users to run their own code on the Sony devices but in fact destroys the machine, Chien said.

Symantec researchers identified the program while monitoring online chat rooms used by game players. Chien said the discovery was evidence that hackers were expanding their targets.

“It goes to show malicious code writers aren’t just targeting personal computers and aren’t just trying to get some replicating code to infect the machines,” Chien said. “Anything that can run code is potentially being targeted.”