Xbox Live IDs, passwords 'leaked'; Microsoft insists no breach

In what could be a repeat of the nightmare that hit Sony's PlayStation Network earlier this year, a list of supposed usernames and passwords — this time of Microsoft's Xbox Live gaming network — has been posted online.

 

But tech site PC Magazine said Microsoft downplayed the data dump of 90 alleged gamertags was made on Pastebin.com, regarding it as a "minor phishing incident" and not a major network breach.

 

"We do not have any evidence the Xbox Live service has been compromised. We take the security of our service seriously and work on an ongoing basis to improve it against evolving threats. However, we are aware that phishing attackers will occasionally post small lists of victims on public channels, and we will work directly with the impacted members to resolve any unauthorized changes to their accounts," PC Mag quoted Microsoft as saying.

 

Microsoft also "highly" recommended that its members follow the Xbox Live Account Security guidance provided at www.xbox.com/security to protect their accounts.

 

The PC Mag report said the so-called "xbox dump" had 90 supposed gamertags, most of them with associated email addresses and passwords.

 

"If it is the beginning of something bigger—and again, there's no confirmation that it is—Microsoft wouldn't have to look far to see how badly a gaming console network breach can play out," it said.

 

Earlier this year, Sony was forced to take its Playstation Network offline after suffering repeated hack attacks.

 

PC Mag said the outage affected an estimated 77 million registered accounts and cost the company about $171 million. — TJD, GMA News