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Microsoft Tracked Down Internal Leakers With Serial Number Embedding

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It was revealed this week that Microsoft found ways to track down people who leaked internal info and broke NDA agreements with some ingenious tactics. A Twitter user by the name of Cullen, who previously worked as an engineer at Microsoft, exposed one of the best-kept secrets during the Xbox 360 era that the company used to track down people who broke NDA's and leaked materials internally. And that was to make your Xbox's serial number trackable through a special embedding process. One of which was having it broadcast int he lower-right corner in the rings of the screen.

https://twitter.com/cullend/status/1071884772064944128

 

The waves that you see are actually a code when anyone who has the cipher can break down and determine what Xbox it came from. Both Cullen and current Xbox employee Jason Short confirmed that this system was used not only to capture those who broke NDA's from betas and other pre-release materials but also to catch those in the company who leaked information to the press and other sources. Pretty ingenious way of stopping people from messing with your games. And a lesson to current gen users who get stuff in advance… there's always someone watching.

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Gavin SheehanAbout Gavin Sheehan

Gavin is the current Games Editor for Bleeding Cool. He has been a lifelong geek who can chat with you about comics, television, video games, and even pro wrestling. He can also teach you how to play Star Trek chess, be your Mercy on Overwatch, recommend random cool music, and goes rogue in D&D. He also enjoys hundreds of other geeky things that can't be covered in a single paragraph. Follow @TheGavinSheehan on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Vero, for random pictures and musings.
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