Video game console hacking

Like most IT people, I like video games.  Over the years, I have used and played several video game consoles (still have them).  Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Playstation, etc.  Personally, I like using them over playing video games on PCs, because its easy to just launch the game and play.

Overtime, especially in recent years, these video game systems have gotten more and more powerful, rivaling and I think exceeding, the power of most PCs.  Suped up CPUs and graphics, harddrives, BluRay discs, etc.  Then the more recent systems from Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have gone on-line.



While I haven't looked into it, you have to wonder what kind of security issues this opens up.  Now these systems are no longer standalone.  And with the on-line aspect, you have people buying stuff on-line at the stories.  What is the security implecations of that?

Now we see the latest version of Microsoft's Xbox, the Xbox One.  (and by the way, what are they going to call the next version?  Xbox Two?  How about Xbox Dos?)

In reading over the specs, it seems that this new Xbox will run 3 (THREE) OSs.  Something called "Xbox OS", another based on the Windows kernal, and the third is a hypervisor to allow the 2 other OSs to communicate. 

Wow.  Sounds complicated. 

No idea what this Xbox OS is.  I assume it's the next version of the system software in the Xbox 360.  This "other OS" based on the Windows kernal is apparently there to do Windows-like stuff on the Xbox, like run a web browser, etc.

But as a security professional, I read that and have to think of the security implications.  This seems ripe for malware, considering the popularity of the Xbox systems, and am sure that people will be using these systems for possible browsing that will entail buying stuff (credit card info and the like), which will attract the wrong kinds of people. Norton Antivirus for Xbox One, anyone?

I guess time will tell how soon it will be the target of attacks.