Microsoft looses 1.2 mil to hackers

Turns out, there was a promotion going on. Visit a site, get a free code for 160 MSP, and be on your way. That wasn't enough for some people, though. With a few changes to the URL, a user could refresh the site to no end and be awarded with a new code each time.

 

Microsoft quickly caught on - but not before they lost a projected 1.2 million dollars worth of MSP.

 

This process was never ending, just refresh, rinse, and repeat. There were so many people doing this at one point that the website 404ed. In a matter of 20 minutes someone I know has obtained over $150 worth of Microsoft Points.

 

As of right now, it seems the website is no longer working. Microsoft has finally caught on; and has currently shut down all redemption codes, so you cannot redeem ANYTHING. As of now this is all I know, my culmination of research and sources leads me to believe my word is the first on the subject.

 

Within hours, a code generator (running off of said website) was made and released to a handful of forums, allowing people to stock up. Some redeemed the codes instantly, garnering as much as 660,000 MSP. Others hoarded codes and went straight to places like eBay, amazon, and CAG. Another user stockpiled 10,000 codes, tossed them in a .zip file, and released them to the public (don't bother searching for it to download, all of the codes have been used).

Now, I don't know who started what or who decided to release this exploit to the public, but I saw it first on Dark Slipstream's post on TTG. (I thought Dark retired, but guess not )

Proof of concepts of the exploit are available here (page_1 , and page_2 ) If you missed the exploit. What scares me about this is how fast information travels in the gaming communities.