But what makes the Kamikaze Hack so interesting is the extent hackers went to circumvent the console’s security. When Microsoft released the new slimmer Xbox 360, the company replaced the flash chip, and instead combined it with the digital signal processor chip to make a single MediaTek chip package that could not be easily flashed with custom firmware. This made it harder for hackers to isolate the flash chip and hack the console. Microsoft also went one step further and encased the chip in a resin for good measure. To open up this drive for flashing so that the console would run custom firmware, people needed to drill a hole in the chip to disable the protection. Software tools alone would not work.

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The pins help mark the exact location of the lines that need to be drilled.
Resin that surrounded this Mediatek chip for the Xbox 360 Slim has been removed.
Image: Modern Vintage Gamer/YouTube

“Microsoft thought this would be enough to stop hackers dead in their tracks,” said Modern Vintage Gamer. It was not.

After removing the chip’s cap and seeing what’s inside, hackers learned which two lines going into the chip were the write protection and ground lines. By drilling through the chip, the lines would be destroyed and therefore unable to prevent the console from running burned discs. However, accidentally destroying any other lines in the chip could ruin your console’s DVD drive.

Drilling the Xbox 360 Slim could destroy your disc drive.
Pictured is inside the MediaTek chip package. The yellow box shows where the two lines intersect. Hackers aimed to drill exactly at this point.
Screenshot: Modern Vintage Gamer/YouTube
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“Essentially, you have one chance,” said Modern Vintage Gamer. “And if you screwed it up, you’ve completely hosed your drive.”

The first hackers had to measure with rules and pencil lines on the chip to know where to drill. Guides appeared, and tools were inevitably created to help simplify the process and reduce risk. There were “Kamikaze Kits” that would tell users if they had drilled too far, destroying their drive.

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Drilling into the Xbox 360 Silm's DVD board made modding possible.
Templates like this took some of the risk out of the drilling.
Screenshot: Modern Vintage Gamer/YouTube

Once the security measure was drilled out, hackers could flash the drive with custom firmware and play bootleg copies.

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Hackers, it seems, always find a way.

For more on hacks and game history, check out Modern Vintage Gamer’s channel.