PS3, Apple hacker ditches Facebook for Lady Gaga

Published January 25, 2012 5:33pm

A hacker who got into trouble with Sony and Apple then went "straight" and joined Facebook has returned to hacking, a business news site reported.

George Hotz (a.k.a. Geohot) is now back to hacking in his free time and is now with Backplane, a startup funded by singer Lady Gaga, Business Insider reported.

"When Hotz waltzed in the door at Backplane, he introduced himself as the hacker who was sued by Sony, but he's most famous for releasing software that allows smartphone users to jailbreak their iPhone," it said.

A separate article on tech site CNET said Backplane is a social startup that heralds famous investors like Google's Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and Lady Gaga.

The reasons for Hotz's departure from Facebook aren't yet known, CNET added.

Hotz gained fame - or infamy - after writing software to jailbreak Apple's iPhone smartphone in 2007.

Later, he allegedly hacked into Sony's PlayStation 3 - prompting a lawsuit from Sony for allegedly violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Computer Fraud Abuse Act. The case was settled last April. — TJD, GMA News

Tags: sony, apple, socialmedia, facebook, ladygaga