Xbox 360 hackers strike back

Well, that didn't last long. Having made a big song and dance about banning modified Xbox 360s from Xbox Live, Microsoft woke up last Thursday to a new exploit that side-steps their detection strategy.

Modified Xbox 360 consoles use known DVD drives exploits to run "backups" (i.e. games copied onto DVDR) along with original Xbox 360 and Xbox 1 discs. The latest, "iXtreme firmware 1.0", says it "defeats all current and some future Xbox Live detection attempts", meaning that the pirates can play online, too.

The new firmware currently only works on 360s with the Toshiba-Samsung DVD drive, but a version supporting the Hitachi-LG alternative is reportedly in development.

When Microsoft moved to clamp down on modified consoles last month, it said that it would not ban individuals' accounts, but rather that it would prevent their specific consoles from accessing the Xbox Live service.

"We have stated in the past that customers can only enjoy access to the Xbox Live community through the use of a genuine, unmodified, Xbox console and we will continue to enforce this rule to ensure the integrity of our service, the protection of our partners and the benefits of our users," a statement on the global community Gamerscoreblog read.

However, while hackers might be chirpy about this latest breakthrough, Microsoft will certainly fight back. Moreover, anybody who was caught out by the last detection sweep is no closer to getting back online. As a forum-goer on Xbox-Scene.com points out: "It [only] works on new/unbanned boxes."