Sony releases PSP security update patch

TOKYO--Sony Computer Entertainment has released a security update patch for the PSP that upgrades its firmware to version 1.51. The patch's release was surprisingly quick, as the company announced it just yesterday and didn't specify a release date. For owners of the Japanese PSP, the 14MB update patch is available on the handheld's official Web site. Sony has not disclosed what kind of security issues the patch fixes upon installation.

Coincidentally, Sony's patch comes only days after reports that hackers have cracked the code for the PSP's media, the Universal Media Disc. Some games have been uploaded to the Internet, but currently there is no way to write UMD discs.