Microsoft on Wednesday rebutted claims that hackers were stealing Xbox 360 customers' online personas. The company says that an internal investigation of the service came up with no evidence of fraudulent behavior or theft.
"We want to reassure all of our 6 million Xbox Live members that we have looked into the situation and found no evidence of any compromise of the security of Bungie.net or our Live network," the company wrote in a statement. No credit card data or other personal information has been exposed through a breech of any kind, it added.
Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Xbox Live subscribers were being shut out of their online gamer accounts, which include a Gamertag, or name, and other information that defines their online personas. These Gamertags are associated with a Live ID (formerly Passport) account, allowing subscribers to access their account information online using a PC.
Microsoft says, however, that while there have been a few isolated incidents in which subscribers were locked out of their accounts because they had been hijacked by malicious users, in each case, the subscriber had provided personal information to those malicious users, which allowed them to access the account and change the password. In other words, hackers were using social engineering to hijack accounts, not an exploit targeting Microsoft's Live services.
"We think this is a good time to remind our members that they should never give out any of their personal information," the statement adds, noting that subscribers should never provide anyone with personally identifiable information, such as their real name, physical address, phone number or credit card number. "This information could be used by other players for illegal or harmful purposes. Also, don't give out the personal information of other players."
