That led to an underground scene of people sharing their console IDs — a huge risk, because if Sony banned that ID, your console could lose access to PSN forever.
The idea was simple: decrypt the save, modify it, then re-sign it with your own console’s keys. But the PS3’s save encryption used a per-console key derived from an IDPS (Console ID). To re-sign a save, you needed your console’s unique ID. Ps3 Save Games
Using Bruteforce Save Data, he tried to re-sign it but didn’t have his own console’s keys properly extracted. So he did something reckless: he used a leaked console ID from a Chinese forum. It worked. The save loaded. He finished the game. That led to an underground scene of people
One story from the forums stands out:
A teenager, "Mike," had spent over 300 hours on Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on PS3. His save was corrupted after a power outage. Heartbroken, he downloaded a save from a stranger online — a nearly identical character, right before the final quest. But the save wouldn’t load. The signature was wrong. To re-sign a save, you needed your console’s unique ID