While it’s been mentioned in several of our articles, consoles and console security has seemingly been neglected in our published work. For those out there who are looking for gold standard cybersecurity and load testing services on console, look no further than Cyrex. Our suite of penetration testing and load testing services are available on all platforms, from console to mobile, browser, and PC. PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and the Nintendo Switch are all commonplace platforms we’ve delivered our stellar console security for.  

Protecting against Console Hackers

Consoles are in a similar position for cybersecurity as iOS devices are, as we discussed in this blog about the Truth of iOS Game Hacking. Both have the benefit of a casual audience as their main userbase and have several barriers that might put off any potential script kiddies. This audience is unlikely to ever entertain the concept of jailbreaking their console, which is the first step for most console hacking endeavours.  

Just with iOS hacking, once your console is jailbroken, it’s stuck on that firmware. If we want to keep it jailbroken, you have to avoid any updates which effectively locks down your console. Most people aren’t willing to depart with all that money just to begin hacking. This high bar for entry means exploiting console games is less likely than PC hacking. Even on iOS, cheap phones can be acquired for jailbreak and begin to fool around with hacking. There isn’t really a busy second-hand market for modern consoles!  

However, if it was the case that nobody hacked consoles, we wouldn’t be writing this! The truth is, there’s a community for it. Just like iOS hacking, there will always be a group dedicated to the exploitation of the device or platform. This means there’s no reason to go light on your console game security! There is always the threat.  

Let’s take a look at some of the most common console game hacks.  

Cross Platform Games

When it comes to developing cross platform games, the code base is usually very similar or almost identical across your chosen platforms. However, the first party services and checks required on each platform are the blind spot we often see for developers.  

Something you cannot test on PC is these first party services. On PlayStation for examples, you must authenticate your PlayStation Network (PSN) credentials directly with the live services of the game. When it comes to security, we often see things go wrong with this process.   

Developers have no way to test and authenticate these interactions directly. They would need to validate the credentials themselves, doing so would require the fabrication of your own “malicious” account. Which is a process common in penetration testing but not something the average developer would have any reason to know. Without this check, the door is unlocked and ready to be opened by malicious actors, spoofing their way through a lacklustre credential authentication process. The danger of a vulnerability like this leads to potential account takeovers and a violation of user data, two major vulnerabilities for any developer.   

Platform Specific Content

Gated content exists for any number of reasons. Platform exclusive bonuses or differences due to respective console Technical Requirements Checklist (TRC) are most common. The issue with this content from a security side is it is often contained in the game’s files and backend endpoints regardless if it’s accessible on their chosen platform. Then, there is a chance it can be enabled by malicious users on the wrong platform and gain an advantage over their peers.   

Things like this could violate the game’s monetization, in-game market, or balance. For those developing F2P or gacha games, this is a big one. The key for preventing this is a strong server-side validation, something we suggest to every client!  

Encryption

A little vague but stick with us! A lot of TRC rules relate to encryption. Anything that’s classified as web traffic, TRC mandates encryption on it. That’s good for security.  

However, a bugbear we’ve been fighting with for a long time is the way gameplay and socket traffic are treated. Gameplay traffic has its own, specific rules which often vary across platforms and consoles. Which results in many developers not even bothering to try. Naturally, this leaves the door open for hackers. As a matter of fact, jailbreaking isn’t even needed to intercept unencrypted network traffic!  

If you’re interested in ensuring your security, across all consoles and platforms, is up to a gold standard. Get in touch with Cyrex, the industry leader in gaming security and load testing. And if your needs extend into development and game services, why not check out the A-Z suite of game outsourcing services with our wider team at Magic Media!