• Xbox one - A serious privacy breach

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    The Xbox One did not get the unveiling it was hoping for. We've heard about issues with backwards compatibility in games and its focus shifting to tv instead of games. However, today's issue does not have much to do with fans disliking functions on the new 'gaming console' from Microsoft. This time the issue is a little more serious.

    The new device, which is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of this year includes a kinect motion camera that will be able to track movements. Combined with that, the Xbox One will have a microphone that listtens to voice commands from the user, suggesting that the camera and microphone will always be on standby.

    Tim Vines, director at Civil Liberties Australia, told GamesFIX that Microsoft has a lot to answer for with a device that has the ability to track its users every move and sound.

    "People should have the ability to turn off the camera or microphone, even if it limits the functionality of the machine," he said. Vines believes privacy is "all about control".

    "Of course, if Microsoft doesn't allow that (control), then people should vote with their wallets and skip the next Xbox."

    Vines is of the opinion that Microsoft should be clear on what they do with the data collected by the Xbox One.

    "Microsoft's new Xbox meets the definition of a surveillance device under some Australian laws, so they need to be upfront and tell customers whether anyone else can intercept their information or remotely access their device," Vines said.

    Tim Vines is not the only person to hold this opinion. Berlin's federal data protection commissioner, Time Schaar, told Spiegel Online that Xbox One is "nothing more than a monitoring device under the diguise of a gaming console".

    What do you guys think of the privacy issues the Xbox One might introduce? Are you still buying the Xbox One?
    Comments 11 Comments
    1. eSko's Avatar
      eSko -
      1st point: It is not shifting to TV instead of games. It is keeping games and adding TV. As it seems from leaks, Xbox One and PS4 both have almost identical hardware, so it's not like Microsoft is abandoning gamers. They are just removing the need to switch between multiple black boxes when you want to switch content on the screen.

      2nd point: As far as privacy violation accusations goes, it's more attention whining than presenting facts. It's note like Microsoft will stream your camera footage to big surveillance center in Redmond. It's exactly the same as thinking that Google will spy on you thru Glass... Not. Going. To. Happen. Tinfoil heads can just disconnect Kinect and they are perfectly safe as all the sensors are located inside of it and not the console itself.
    1. PBALLER325's Avatar
      PBALLER325 -
      Quote Originally Posted by eSko View Post
      1st point: It is not shifting to TV instead of games. It is keeping games and adding TV. As it seems from leaks, Xbox One and PS4 both have almost identical hardware, so it's not like Microsoft is abandoning gamers. They are just removing the need to switch between multiple black boxes when you want to switch content on the screen.

      2nd point: As far as privacy violation accusations goes, it's more attention whining than presenting facts. It's note like Microsoft will stream your camera footage to big surveillance center in Redmond. It's exactly the same as thinking that Google will spy on you thru Glass... Not. Going. To. Happen. Tinfoil heads can just disconnect Kinect and they are perfectly safe as all the sensors are located inside of it and not the console itself.

      im glad someone has a sane mind left.........
    1. Jaerin's Avatar
      Jaerin -
      Quote Originally Posted by eSko View Post
      1st point: It is not shifting to TV instead of games. It is keeping games and adding TV. As it seems from leaks, Xbox One and PS4 both have almost identical hardware, so it's not like Microsoft is abandoning gamers. They are just removing the need to switch between multiple black boxes when you want to switch content on the screen.

      2nd point: As far as privacy violation accusations goes, it's more attention whining than presenting facts. It's note like Microsoft will stream your camera footage to big surveillance center in Redmond. It's exactly the same as thinking that Google will spy on you thru Glass... Not. Going. To. Happen. Tinfoil heads can just disconnect Kinect and they are perfectly safe as all the sensors are located inside of it and not the console itself.

      How do you know its not going to happen? We already get our emails and cellphone data hijacked by the government all the time without any kind of indication to us that its happening or happened. Who's to stop anyone from sending a sopena to Microsoft to intercept the audio/video that may or may not be getting picked up inside a house? LEO can already do things remotely activating cell phones and putting them into listening mode. I understand the desire to want to make things more accessible, but as long as someone other than the owner gets to decide how that data is used it has HUGE security and privacy implications. Does that mean that it will automatically happen? No it doesn't, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I mean what advantage is there to having it listen ALL the time just so you don't have to push a button on a controller/remote. It's no more accessible its just eliminating one-step...not even a difficult step at that.
    1. Ket's Avatar
      Ket -
      According to this article, evidently anyone carrying a cell phone should be even more fearful as it is actually a tracking device with viewing and listening abilities. People will whine and complain about anything.
    1. eSko's Avatar
      eSko -
      Quote Originally Posted by Jaerin View Post
      How do you know its not going to happen? We already get our emails and cellphone data hijacked by the government all the time without any kind of indication to us that its happening or happened. Who's to stop anyone from sending a sopena to Microsoft to intercept the audio/video that may or may not be getting picked up inside a house? LEO can already do things remotely activating cell phones and putting them into listening mode. I understand the desire to want to make things more accessible, but as long as someone other than the owner gets to decide how that data is used it has HUGE security and privacy implications. Does that mean that it will automatically happen? No it doesn't, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I mean what advantage is there to having it listen ALL the time just so you don't have to push a button on a controller/remote. It's no more accessible its just eliminating one-step...not even a difficult step at that.
      To be honest, government doesn't give a sh*t about what you do in your living room unless you are labeled as potential threat, which I definitely am not. So I don't give a sh*t either. I don't think I am important enough to be spied on by government or Microsoft.
    1. ieatglueandstuff's Avatar
      ieatglueandstuff -
      Is it really responsible or necessary to quote and propagate more nonsense when you read a conspiracy theorist's point of view? As a developer I 100% know it isn't going to be some kind of big brother operation, and wtf are we worried about?? A massive portion of the population has "Smart Phones", while it is crazy and over dramatized the system used in Batman to 3d sonar the world is theoretically possible.
    1. Jaerin's Avatar
      Jaerin -
      Quote Originally Posted by ieatglueandstuff View Post
      Is it really responsible or necessary to quote and propagate more nonsense when you read a conspiracy theorist's point of view? As a developer I 100% know it isn't going to be some kind of big brother operation, and wtf are we worried about?? A massive portion of the population has "Smart Phones", while it is crazy and over dramatized the system used in Batman to 3d sonar the world is theoretically possible.
      It doesn't matter if you think it is no improbable that it would be used. It has ZERO benefit and a HUGE loss of potential privacy. If the data is there and law enforcement knows that it is there, it's a warrant away from being theirs. For what? So you don't have to pick up the controller/remote and push a button before you use your device? You probably have to push the button to turn your TV on as well so its not like you don't have to push the button anyways.
    1. CreativeXtent's Avatar
      CreativeXtent -
      The title is misleading.... it is not a privacy breach at all... all this hatred is not founded very well..
    1. Harambeqt's Avatar
      Harambeqt -
      And Origin was scanning your harddrives and banning people for piracy...?
      ...No
    1. CHandest's Avatar
      CHandest -
      I bet Tim Vines likes Playstation more :-)
    1. burtpulizzi's Avatar
      burtpulizzi -
      In your mind what is a GPS jammer and what can it do to help you? Only when you are in the situation that the GPS jammer is need you will understand how important and useful such kind of device is. Gaining more knowledge of the device? Just start and then you will have access to the best GPS jammer.
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