How easy is it to break into a Xbox One? Apparently a 5-year-old can do it.
As reported by 10News, 5-year-old Kristoffer Von Hassel found a way to break into his father's Xbox One account by using an exploit that lets him gain access without the correct password. After attempting to enter the account with wrong password, a verification screen comes up. Von Hassel found that by filling the password field with nothing but spaces, you are able to access the account. This exploit has already been patched and fixed.
Von Hassel's parents found out that he had accessed the account when they discovered him playing restricted video games. The Von Hassels then contacted Microsoft to report that their son had found how to get through into a locked account. As a reward for finding this issue, Microsoft awarded the young Von Hassel with four games, $50, and a yearlong subscription to Xbox live. Von Hassel is also now listed online as a security researcher who helps to make Microsoft's systems safer. Seems like a good deal for exploiting a security system.
Microsoft issued in a statement on the matter:
' we're='' always='' listening='' to='' our='' customers='' and='' thank='' them='' for='' bringing='' issues='' to='' our='' attention...='' we='' take='' security='' seriously='' at='' xbox='' and='' fixed='' the='' issue='' as='' soon='' as='' we='' learned='' about=''>
Het lijkt erop dat dit niet de enige keer is dat de jonge Von Hassel door beveiligingssystemen is gegaan. Volgens zijn vader is het de derde van de vierde keer dat Von Hassel een manier heeft gevonden om door verschillende beveiligingssystemen te komen. Misschien wordt Von Hassel ooit een beveiligingsdeskundige. Of misschien moet Microsoft hun spel verbeteren als het gaat om de beveiligingssystemen die zij gebruiken voor hun hardware. Misschien zijn ze toch helemaal niet zo veilig ...