A Canadian enthusiast reverse-engineered the PlayStation 2's MechaCon security chip after four years of effort, unlocking its secrets for hardware preservation and emulation projects.
# Original Sony PlayStation 2 security chip ‘broken wide open’ after 26 years — chemical decapping and four years of reverse engineering unlocks MechaCon secrets
Source: [https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/playstation/26-year-old-sony-ps2-security-chip-broken-wide-open-after-four-years-of-effort-reverse-engineering-enthusiast-successfully-unlocks-cxp102064-mechacon-chip](https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/playstation/26-year-old-sony-ps2-security-chip-broken-wide-open-after-four-years-of-effort-reverse-engineering-enthusiast-successfully-unlocks-cxp102064-mechacon-chip)
The ‘magic[security](https://www.tomshardware.com/tag/security)chip’ inside the original[PlayStation 2](https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/handheld-gaming/enthusiast-crams-reversed-engineered-ps2-into-a-handheld-designs-custom-motherboard-bespoke-playstation-2-portable-pairs-modern-features-with-original-silicon)has been successfully reverse\-engineered and dumped\. 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 took “four years of effort” to reach this stage, but this milestone should be a boon to hardware preservation, repair, and[emulation](https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/playstation/ps5-emulation-arrives-on-steam-deck-astro-playroom-showcased-running-at-0-6-fps-milestone-sharpemu-development-shows-promise-despite-unplayable-performance)projects\.
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