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Nintendo Begins Locking Out Switch Hackers From Online Services

posted by cmn32480 on Wednesday May 23 2018, @03:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the make-it-run-Halo dept.

takyon writes:

Nintendo Switch hackers are being banned from online services

Not long after its March launch last year, it was revealed that a GPU exploit in the Nintendo Switch could be used to run unofficial software, like pirated games and homebrew ROMs. Since then, the Switch's hacking community has grown, and the discovery of a new 'unpatchable' exploit last month has only made the console more attractive to pirates and homebrew fans.

Nintendo isn't taking the assault on its walled garden lightly, however, and is taking steps to crack down and dissuade users from taking advantage of the security holes.

The Japanese company has begun banning hacked consoles from its online services, sending error notifications when users attempt to log in. According to the message, "The use of online services on this console is currently restricted by Nintendo," and users will need to "Contact Customer Support via the Nintendo Support Website".

Also at Nintendo Life.

Previously: Nintendo Switch Homebrew Mode Coming Soon Due to NVIDIA Tegra X1 Exploit
Hacking Group Fail0verflow Shows Linux Running on the Nintendo Switch
The "Unpatchable" Exploit That Makes Every Current Nintendo Switch Hackable [Updated]

Related: Nintendo Switch is Fastest-Selling US Home Console

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by frojack on Wednesday May 23 2018, @06:48PM (1 child)

    by frojack (1554) on Wednesday May 23 2018, @06:48PM (#683210) Journal

    but you can just keep updating your online service to ban newly hacked consoles as they are discovered.

    Well, that's exactly what Nintendo is doing. So I guess you agree with that.

    What would make sense is downloading the entire game code stack directly over the network, encrypted, check summed, and verified,
    stored within the console.

    If the console is hacked, you'd have to re-download that entire stack and that would be the extent of your punishment.

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  • (Score: 2) by darkfeline on Thursday May 24 2018, @05:51PM

    by darkfeline (1030) on Thursday May 24 2018, @05:51PM (#683646) Homepage

    >What would make sense is downloading the entire game code stack directly over the network, encrypted, check summed, and verified,
    stored within the console.

    >If the console is hacked, you'd have to re-download that entire stack and that would be the extent of your punishment.

    How does that stop digital piracy? Sounds like it would be trivial for someone to upload that entire stack to FREEROMZ.NET.

    The point is DRM is cracked once, forever.

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