Heh, I remember in my school a few years back that someone went around searching for sites with default login/password anywhere, if he found one he simply pasted the logins/passwords of everyone on the site on the front page.
Microsoft confirms 'high-profile' XBL accounts targeted in new hack
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Xbox maker says it is aware of attackers using social engineering to compromise accounts of current and former Microsoft employees.
Microsoft has acknowledged that a number of "high-profile" Xbox Live accounts held by current and former Microsoft employees have been compromised. According to The Verge, the hackers used employees' Social Security numbers and a form of social engineering to gain unauthorized entry to the Xbox Live accounts.
Microsoft told The Verge that it does not collect or use Social Security numbers for Xbox Live accounts and that the hackers were able to access the accounts through a third-party.
"We are aware that a group of attackers are using several stringed social engineering techniques to compromise the accounts of a handful of high-profile Xbox Live accounts held by current and former Microsoft employees," a Microsoft spokesperson said.
"We are actively working with law enforcement and other affected companies to disable this current method of attack and prevent its further use," the statement goes on. "Security is of critical importance to us and we are working every day to bring new forms of protection to our members."
Microsoft urged Xbox Live users to familiarize themselves with the company's account security guidelines and establish a system of proofs.
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
167 comments
1 Like why is everyone surprised, could of sworn x-box just like ps3 has dealt with stuff like this in the past, why start a fan-boy war. if systems are going to be online hackers will always find ways to mess with them.
@JimmyTwoGunz You guys should read a book on cyber security. If only you knew how vulnerable many critical systems are. One day a major disaster/tragedy will be caused by a compromised system and lives will be lost. Video game account hacks are the least of our worries.
5 Like I hate hackers, the PSN hack pissed me off no end.
What I will say though is at least it goes to show Microsoft's beloved console isn't immune to the problem. Should shut some of the fanboys up.
We're all being affected by this together, regardless of your console of choice. Quit with the bitching and focus on the real matter at hand, the security issues of our personal information. Hackers are a plague on one big power-trip.
2 Like An Xbox can get hacked? No way! How can this be? The 360 is suppose to be able to block all hackers! Maybe the hackers can hack the Kinect also and find a way to make it work a lot better.
4 Like @Gamer_4_Fun Access through a third party is hardly the same as MS themselves being hacked.
1 Like Get ready for another console wars on gamespot , soon .
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-03-20-next-xbox-games-run-from-hard-drive-discs-not-supported-post-install-report
@Cloud_imperium That article is a clear lie, if you were a console developer, you are interested not in used game, but rather monthly subscription fees. Used game does not take away your potential earnings, rather it adds to it. Since more people will play online for longer duration than the initial six months, this means more monthly fees from more people. Used games might be troubling game developers, but not console developers.
@Cloud_imperium Think of it this way. Game A can't be reused on a different account, I therefore won't buy it, game developer get no revenue, console developer get no monthly fee. If Game B can be played freely, I buy it second hand off Gamestop, Game developer still get no revenue, but now I need to purchase monthly fee to play online, console developer is happy.
1 Like @Grimkillah @Cloud_imperium Before writing stories you should have read my comment . Never said about being truth or lie . I said get ready for console wars which happens no matter what you write . Correct me if I am wrong .
1 Like LOL at all the pathetic xbox fanboys who kept saying no one could hack live because you pay money.
@GinsuVictim @pound-u duhhhhhh....
Microsoft confirms 'high-profile' XBL accounts targeted in new hack.... do you need someone to read it to you??the hackers used employees' Social Security numbers and a form of social engineering to gain unauthorized entry to the Xbox Live accounts. IE. XBL HACKED. last time i checked my xbl account was on xbl.H
1 Like @GinsuVictim @pound-u I'm not sure if they don't understand the article or if they're just really desperate to find something they can point to and say, "See? Microsoft gets hacked just like Sony does."
1 Like @pound-u They get hacked ALL the time, they just don't report it usually. And they aren't very nice to people who get hacked either.
My mate got told it was his fault for getting hacked and they didnt restore his account for two months.
2 Like It goes to show you that no one is safe, xbl, psn, ayed service, free, it just doesen't matter. Stay safe folks. :-)
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@blackace Technically part of the harm was done the moment their accounts got compromised.
3 Like Just goes to show that NOWHERE is it safe to put your info. You are at risk as soon as you give it out anywhere. Xbox, PS3...it doesn't matter. Hopefully this will shut up the idiots that swore that these things never happen on XBL and thought the service was guaranteed safe. Such naivety.
and the point of hacking an XBLA is? i havnt used xbox live for years and the last game i got for it was fable 3 on release theres just no reason to use it as whatever it can do my pc can do better and theres more likely to be a sale on a pc game than a console game
4 Like The FBI should be on this. They stole Social Security numbers that is a federal crime.
They have better not stole Major Nelson's account because they signed their own death warrant then. He is a bad ass. ;)
They currently have the social security numbers of several people, and their first move is to hack their XBL accounts? Wut.
1 Like @Dezuria And sadly those dumb people are Microsoft employees. That's pretty ironic don't you think? :)
1 Like only time i was hacked on xboxlive was by the microsoft itself, when they hacked into my account where i had my credit card info ,and pulled 60 dollars for subscription renewal without me being aware of it. (they even get pissed and ban you if you dont update your credit card info and the transaction is not approved) :p
They gained their SS numbers and other personal info and they only cared to get into their Live account? What idiots!
1 Like @rasterror Hmm, somehow I highly doubt if some was dubious to get their hands, say on Bill Gates SSN, that his Live account would be the only thing they screw w/.....
MS probably just made that asinine statement just to try to soften how bad this really looks for them (not to say that helps for those how's shit was compromised like this).
@PumpkinBoogie @rasterror Well at least they let people know. I lost $400 to the SOE hack even though I got it back weeks later. It took Sony how long to cough up that they were hacked and that they fired their internet security team weeks before?
@rasterror @PumpkinBoogie Did you guys even read?
"the hackers used employees' Social Security numbers and a form of social engineering to gain unauthorized entry to the Xbox Live accounts."
Here is more useful info:
Evidence pointing to hacking collective Team Hype's alleged involvement surfaced when videos depicting its efforts were found online; videos that demonstrated the group's reported use of illegally obtained Social Security data to gain access to and sell off Xbox Live user accounts.
My opinion is that everything can be hacked
@PumpkinBoogie @rasterror BBut 77 million accounts weren't hacked into. And yes having your social stolen is terrible having your banking info stolen is next to it. Even though they weren't hacked directly, MS needs to make sure their third parties' security is up to snuff. After that Sony fiasco though I dropped PSN and SOE all together.
1 Like @rasterror @PumpkinBoogie ....and while nothing happen to me, your point? It didn't take Sony that long at all to acknowledge the issue--it just took them to fix it. <_<
And let's be for real here, no matter how shit went down w/ Sony--nobody's SSN was compromised. MS didn't really have CHOICE but to say something when it's that magnitude of a fuck up where someone's life--aka their SSN-- is floating out in the open.
Credit/debit cards can be replaced; funds can be returned (once the suspicious transactions can be verified). But when someone has your SSN that's a helluva scarier prospect for life damage we're talking about.
@rasterror @PumpkinBoogie Took about a Day for Sony to react. Took them bout a month to fix it.
1 Like @emptycow2 Yeah, you just read the title and jumped in to write a senseless comment!
Ape Man - "Hold it! Reach for the sky! Make it quick!"
Agent - *Pulls out gun and shoots Ape Man*
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