According to reports from the Xbox-Scene forums, Microsoft has started shipping Xbox 360 consoles in the UK and Australia regions with an updated Hitachi DVD-ROM drive. The new version of the drive has implemented changes to the hardware designed to make hacking the firmware much harder than before, including changing the firmware chip type, removing debug mode, and encasing the chip with black hard glue to make it harder to access the chip and controller pins. Consoles with a manufacture date of August 2006 in the two affected territories have been shown to have the updated drive, but it is certainly possible that consoles manufactured on earlier dates have the changes as well. Microsoft has made its first counter-move against the hackers looking to open up the Xbox 360, and this will probably only be the first salvo in an ongoing battle.
News source: Playfeed
