Over the weekend a group of hackers hijacked Windows Live IDs through Bungie.net and supposedly took over all accounts associated within those IDs. ZDNet.com compiled a list of sources who are confirming such hacks after a security researcher over at Digital Munition released a full disclosure report. ZDNet.com then received emails from Xbox Live members confirming that their accounts have been taken over and that everything from fraudulent charges on their account to password changes occurred. So far Microsoft has somewhat admitted to the problem, but hasn't been overly helpful. There has been no official word from Microsoft, but in a phone conversation with a Xbox Live Tech they said that "hackers have control of Xbox live and there is nothing we can do about it".Have you noticed anything screwy with your Xbox Live account or Windows Live ID? So far we haven't heard anything from the fanboy community, making us believe this is a much more isolated problem then ZDNet.com makes it appear. But we definitely think Microsoft needs to either come out and admit to the problem and tell us what happened or squash this over-zealous rumor. This whole hacking problem further begs the question; why can't hackers and gamers live in harmony?
Update 1: This mystery has been solved!
[Via Digg]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-21-2007 @ 11:46AM
BOXKUTTA said...
"hackers have control of Xbox live and there is nothing we can do about it".
That is the single scariest thing i've seen on this blog.
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3-21-2007 @ 12:00PM
Boff said...
Hackers taking over a few Gamertags/Live ID's is hardly the sensational 'Hackers have control of Xbox Live and there's nothing we can do about it' headline.
And it was an MS employee that said this?
Maybe if MS's Xbox Live servers had been hacked it may have been more relevant.
Saying that mind, I haven't even checked my account yet so I've just jinxed myself badly!!
OH NO!! MY XBOX HAS BEEN HAXXORD!!!
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3-21-2007 @ 12:05PM
Matt said...
No problems here...
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3-21-2007 @ 12:17PM
ROFL123 said...
Title is misleading. It's suggesting that Xbox Live itself has been hacked when it's just the Windows Live ID's which have been "hacked". Do to user error of falling for phishing, downlading keylogger/trojan, or mass spyware/adware do to pr0n downloading.
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3-21-2007 @ 12:18PM
Xudus said...
no problems here either...
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3-21-2007 @ 12:52PM
Bryan T said...
Should I be worried? My GT was linked with Windows Live ID...
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3-21-2007 @ 12:54PM
Buckling said...
same here...no problems for me thankfully
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3-21-2007 @ 1:46PM
God damn it said...
If this is true then this is f-ing bullshi-. I've tried numerous times to get my credit card information taken off of my account, but for some reason they "can't do it." If my credit card gets charged I'm seriously going to go ape-fuc-ing-shi- on MSFT's customer service representatives.
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3-21-2007 @ 2:29PM
DjDATZ said...
mine's lookin alright...i accidentally deleted all my cookies last night...so i had to re-sign in to everything...and i signed into my live id perfectly, plus i just checked my billing -ish at microsoft and there seems to be nothing wrong.
im just pissed off i cant remove this old credit card from my account...
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3-21-2007 @ 3:14PM
xxghostsxx said...
Yeah my friend just received two free accounts with 20,000ms in EACH !!! from a friend over xbox live who has been stealing accounts. He was bragging about it the whole day in school.
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3-21-2007 @ 3:33PM
icekhold said...
Guys it’s awfully close to April 1st. And gamers and the industry in general are known for huge rumours and jokes around this time of the year.
Unless I get a official statement from Microsoft about this I’ll be remaining weary. Take it with a grain of salt.
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3-21-2007 @ 4:02PM
northface said...
Joking about identity theft...??? I doubt it
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3-21-2007 @ 4:23PM
RECK1N said...
@ #8 if you go to your payment settings on xbox360 you can actually remove your credit card there. I believe its the screen where you purchase MS points
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3-21-2007 @ 4:24PM
zourskittles said...
@4, this post says "and supposedly took over all accounts associated within those IDs." so if your GT is linked to your ID, than its possible someone could steal it if they can really hack this
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3-21-2007 @ 4:43PM
BowserUSC said...
@ROFL123
actually its not 'Do to user error of falling for phishing, downlading keylogger/trojan, or mass spyware/adware do to pr0n downloading.'
If you read the article you'd realize they hacked bungie and got the accounts. Good job proving you can read.
As for the rest of you getting pissed off theres not really anything MS can do about it besides try and fix it. The names were hacked, it was a malicious attempt to take your money by hackers, not MS. Just check and make sure nothing happens on your credit cards. Worse comes to worse call your credit card company and hold all charges.
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3-21-2007 @ 7:58PM
Randy said...
When i first got my xbox 360 i was playing online and started to get pissed so i started talking shit, this one guy said he was working for microsoft and was going to ban my account. so he started talking to this other dude saying my i.p address and ban me for profanity. shut off my xbox and turned it back on and it said i was now a silver account holder. called microsoft and they said i called in and cancelled. they had no information of me being banned. they said all they saw was i cancelled over phone. the only way i you can cancel over the phone is to give them all your information. so this dude knew my name where i live and all the other important stuff. microsoft said they were handing it over to the higher ups and would take care off it. 1 week later i was back on. still kinda weird that someone not working for microsoft could find that out.
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3-21-2007 @ 10:15PM
Insomnious said...
Hahaha... Welcome to 1998.
Get a proper password.
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3-22-2007 @ 6:50AM
Derka said...
It's happening alot with gamers trading profiles for gamerscore. People trade with unworthy people, who jack their accounts and use the credit cards, etc. MS doesn't know this because the people that call in don't say they've traded accounts for fear they would be banned. So, this is not hacking by any standards, only stupid people trying to get gamerscore.
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