Xbox Certificate Leaked, Hacker Attacks on Xbox Live Possible
Microsoft let a security certificate slip online, immediately issuing a warning for Xbox users saying the platform is vulnerable to potential attacks now.
According to a report from ZDNet, the Microsoft advisory did not specify how the leak took place but instead cautioned users to keep an eye out for digital hackers. The particular certificate that was disclosed allows attackers to act as the Xbox Live domain and use this to get a hold of private information such as usernames and passwords, which could lead to more attacks.
"Microsoft is aware of an SSL/TLS digital certificate for *.xboxlive.com for which the private keys were inadvertently disclosed," Microsoft said in an official report on the website. "The certificate could be used in attempts to perform man-in-the-middle attacks. It cannot be used to issue other certificates, impersonate other domains, or sign code. This issue affects all supported releases of Microsoft Windows."
Fortunately, as the official statement mentioned, the certificate could not be used to create other certificates or domains. While there have been no reports of specific attacks due to the leak, Microsoft acted swiftly to make sure it causes as few problems as possible.
The company said, "To help protect customers from potentially fraudulent use of the SSL/TLS digital certificate, the certificate has been deemed no longer valid and Microsoft is updating the Certificate Trust list (CTL) for all supported releases of Microsoft Windows to remove the trust of the certificate."
In other news, Xbox boss Phil Spencer revealed the team has been considering making the Xbox 360 backwards compatible games available for purchase on the new console. According to a report from GameSpot, the old games can currently be brought on the Xbox website with a browser and the fans are clamoring for a more direct way to get a hold of the different titles on their Xbox One units.
Answering a fan query on Twitter about this, Spencer said, "We've heard this request and we are working on a solution."
The Xbox One backwards compatibility has been one of the most hyped-about features in the last Xbox update. It allows the players to experience games from the previous-generation console on the new Xbox, so there's continuity and the users wouldn't have to say goodbye to old favorites to make the jump to the new platform.
Some of the games available with backwards compatibility are "Halo Reach," "Halo Wars", "Fallout 3," "Call of Duty: Black Ops," "Assassin's Creed 2," "Bioshock," "Bioshock 2," "Bioshock Infinite" and "Skate 3."
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