Xbox LIVE Security Improved

Today, Alex Garden, the general manager of Xbox LIVE, penned a blog post to explain the ways in which Microsoft has improved the security of XBL—a major concern over the last year of stories about password breaches and exploits. In addition to advising users to change their passwords (always good to do), Garden listed a number of the ways that Microsoft is taking its network’s security VERY SERIOUSLY:

• 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.

It’s nice to see that the company’s looking to pursue greater improvements to their security, and that data thieves and buyers will face punishments…but there’s something a little silly when I see that, wow, people who buy and sell other people’s data might get banned. I mean, yeah, they should get banned—but why hasn’t that been the case since the beginning? It was cool up until now?

Anyway, hooray security improvements! Next, I want an “order pizza” button on my controller. Make it so.

Xbox Forums via Eurogamer