Sony and the PS3 hacking community have been engaged in a tug-of-war in recent months, ever since root access to the PlayStation 3 was gained. In addition to opening the door for unauthorized indie development on the console, that breakthrough allowed users to play pirated games and cheat online. Sony responded by threatening to ban players found to have modded their system in this way, which the company says amounts to a breach in the terms of use agreement. It appears as though that punishment is being bypassed as well, with users claiming to have found a way to circumvent and reverse such bans.

According to Destructoid, hackers can now apparently unban themselves. Even more disturbing, those users can even ban other players, provided they have access to the victim's console ID. As one hacker said last month, "The complete console is compromised – there is no way back."

And if you don't know this by now, don't give anyone access to your PS3's console ID. Seriously.