5-year-old boy finds security flaw in Xbox Live

Advertisement
By Associated Press | Updated: 7 April 2014 11:08 IST

A 5-year-old San Diego boy has outwitted the sharpest minds at Microsoft - he's found a backdoor to the Xbox.

Kristoffer Von Hassel managed to log in to his father's Xbox Live account. When the password log-in screen appeared, Kristoffer simply hit the space button a few times and hit enter.

Robert Davies tells KGTV-TV that just after Christmas he noticed his son playing games he supposedly couldn't access.

Advertisement

Davies, who works in computer security, says he reported the issue to Microsoft, which fixed the bug and recently listed Kristoffer on its website as a "security researcher."

Advertisement

A Microsoft statement says "we take security seriously" and thanks customers for highlighting issues.

Advertisement

It's not the Kristoffer's first triumph. At a year old, he bypassed a cellphone toddler lock by holding down the "home" button.

Advertisement

Notably, the Xbox One was only rolled out to 13 countries in its first phase of roll-out. In March, Microsoft finally announced the next-phase of roll-out. Starting September 2014, 26 new markets will get retail availability of the Xbox One console, including India. For now, pricing details and exact launch dates have not been disclosed.

Making the announcement via a post on the official Xbox blog on Tuesday, Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi said, "It's time to ensure even more fans around the world can enjoy Xbox One. So today we're proud to share that it will be available in 26 additional markets in September this year. We'll have much more to share at a local level towards the end of April, so stay tuned."

Full list of 26 new countries in September phase of Xbox One global roll-out: Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia , Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and UAE.

 

Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.

Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. OnePlus 15R Surfaces on Benchmarking Site Ahead of India Launch
  2. ACT Fibernet Launches New Broadband Plans With Free OTT Subscriptions
  3. Flipkart Buy Buy 2025 Sale: Nothing Phone 3, Phone 3a Deals Revealed
  4. Flipkart Buy Buy 2025 Sale With Discounts on iPhone 16 Begins on This Date
  5. Anthropic's New Claude Tool That Interviews Users About Their AI Usage
  6. Apple Announces App Store Awards 2025 Winners: Check List
  7. Samsung May Limit Exynos 2600 to South Korea's Galaxy S26 Units
  8. Xiaomi May Launch This Tri-Fold Phone to Rival the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold
  9. FaceTime, Snapchat Video Calls Have Reportedly Been Blocked in Russia
  1. Nothing Phone 3a Lite Goes on Sale in India: See Price, Offers, Availability
  2. Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 Launch Timeline Leaked; Could Debut Alongside Samsung Galaxy Watch 9
  3. Samsung Galaxy S26 Series May Get Exynos 2600 Chipset Exclusively in South Korea: Report
  4. Apple’s FaceTime Reportedly Blocked in Russia Alongside Snapchat’s Video Calling Feature
  5. Anthropic Releases New Claude Tool That Interviews Users About Their AI Usage
  6. ACT Fibernet Launches Revamped Broadband Plans Starting at Rs. 499
  7. Motorola Edge 70 Special Edition Launched in Pantone’s 2026 Colour of the Year with Swarovski Accents
  8. Apple Announces App Store Awards 2025 Winners; Top Apps Include Tiimo, Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, and More
  9. OnePlus 15R With Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Chipset, 12GB RAM Surfaces on Geekbench Ahead of India Launch
  10. James Webb Space Telescope Spots an Exoplanet Losing Its Atmosphere in a Huge Helium Stream
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.