In light of the release of the Lv0 keys and the inevitable development of custom firmwares for the PlayStation 3, Sony has issues a succinct and stern warning to it’s userbase.  Sony will be terminating any PSN account that it catches on it’s service using a “modified console.”

Dear valued PlayStation®3 customers,

Unauthorized software for the PlayStation®3 system was recently released by hackers. Use of such software violates the terms of the “System Software License Agreement for the PlayStation®3 System” and the “Terms of Services and User Agreement” for the PlayStation®Network/Sony Entertainment Network and its Community Code of Conduct provisions.

Violation of the System Software License Agreement for the PlayStation®3 system invalidates the consumer’s right to access that system. Consumers running unauthorized or pirated software may have their access to the PlayStation®Network and access to Sony Entertainment Network services through PlayStation®3 system terminated permanently.

To avoid permanent termination, consumers must immediately cease using and delete all unauthorized or pirated software from their PlayStation®3 systems.

In order to help provide a safe, fair, online environment, consumers who we believe violate “Terms of Services and User Agreement” for the PlayStation®Network/Sony Entertainment Network or the applicable laws or regulations of their country or region risk having access to the PlayStation®Network and access to Sony Entertainment Network services terminated permanently.

Looking at the warning it does only seem to concern a user’s PSN account so it might be possible for someone to simply resign-up with another account to work around the issue.  On the other side of the coin, Sony could implement the termination in two phases to prevent this from happening which would be: 1.) deactivate the PSN account used, 2.) add the console’s MAC address to a blacklist to prevent it from connecting to Sony’s servers in the future — something that Microsoft does with each ban wave on Live.

Now while the ramnifications of that statement may seem all encompassing, there’s a strict condition from being banned from using PSN, and that’s using a modified console and THEN using the free service (the store, online multiplayer, etc).  So long as you don’t go online and keep it that way, you’ll be able to enjoy your custom firmware equipped PS3 and the goodies that it entails.  If you do need to access PSN and any content tied to it, then you’re probably better off getting a secondary console dedicated for this.