Microsoft today announced they would be beefing up their Xbox Live security as a precaution. First Microsoft announced they will be increasing notification on people’s accounts who may have been compromised, in order to hopefully rectify the situation as quickly as possible. Next Xbox Live general manager Alex Garden had this to say:
“Most importantly, many of our security enhancements and recovery processes are dependent on our members having valid, up-to-date security information in place,”
“I encourage everyone to take five minutes today to check your security information and update it if necessary. If you have any lost or stolen security proofs, update them now to prevent any interruptions to your Xbox Live service in the future. We only use this information for your security, and never for marketing or advertising.”
Here is a list of some of the changes that Microsoft will be making to help increase security for Xbox Live:
We’ve taken legal action to pull down online posts of gamertags, usernames and passwords gathered from malware or phishing schemes to help protect our members.
Our Xbox LIVE Spring update included many behind the scenes improvements that help us build on security enhancements for the near future.
We’re sending unique codes to the security phone numbers and secondary email addresses provided by members to verify authorization for Xbox.com purchases or account change attempts not stemming from a member’s trusted device.
We’re working to reduce market incentives for criminal activity. Engaging in identity theft, trading in stolen accounts and committing credit card fraud are illegal and violate our Terms of Use. Those involved in these activities risk criminal prosecution, account and console bans. That goes for both sellers and buyers of known stolen accounts and content.
Garden also went on to suggest that people should have different passwords for their Xbox Live accounts than other online services; and if you don’t you should change them. Garden then concludes by saying:
“That is why our resolve at Microsoft to battle fraud and our commitment to account security is stronger than ever. I hope you’ll take a few moments to protect your account today and as always, I welcome you to share your views or concerns with me as we move forward together.”
It will be interesting to see how hard Microsoft goes after people who have been “trading stolen accounts”; is this just puffed up PR bluster or will they actually be prosecuting those who do it?
