Xbox Live general manager Alex Garden has issued a statement about Xbox Live account security in the wake of numerous accounts being hacked and stolen. He suggested that users check out http://xbox.com/security for details on how to avoid accounts being hijacked, suggesting that while Xbox Live might be safe, individual accounts are only as safe as users make them.
“Personal account security starts with setting strong passwords and routinely changing them, using a valid email and a unique password for each online service, adding a phone number, alternate email address, and a unique and private security question via the Windows LIVE ID Account Management site, and reducing the amount of personal information shared online or through social networks,” said Garden on a letter posted to GamePolitics. “More and more, being mindful of where you login to online services, even when not using Xbox Live, and using single-use codes, provides added protection, especially when you’re signing in from a PC that isn’t your own. Working together we can prevail over the criminals.”
“I realize it may fall flat when we don’t share specific details of our security architecture,” he continued. “However, some of the security measures we have in place to help protect our members include password-attempt throttling, CAPTCHA (an industry-standard anti-scripting measure designed so that an actual human needs to answer the challenge), strong proofs (trusted PC, pin sent to cell phone, secondary e-mail and security questions), and account lockout for multiple failed attempts and compromised accounts, which we investigate and recover to the rightful owner.”
“We do not take lightly the frustrations we’ve heard from our loyal Xbox Live members and remain committed to addressing and persistently resolving our customers’ individual and collective concerns. For now, if you have a problem we haven’t yet resolved, please email me,” he concluded.
