Microsoft India online store hacked

Microsoft's online store in India has been hacked. The site, http://www.microsoftstore.co.in/, is now offline but reports on the Internet indicate that the "Chinese Evil Shadow Team" has taken credit for this hack. The hackers have access to usernames and passwords that were stored in plain text and were not encrypted thereby making it really easy for them to obtain the data.

As per The Verge, Quasar Media has been "appointed by Microsoft to own, maintain and operate the online store." As of writing this article, the Microsoft online store is still down.

Visiting the website now gives the following message: The Microsoft Store India is currently unavailable. Microsoft is working to restore access as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

A Microsoft spokesperson has responded by saying: "Microsoft is investigating a limited compromise of the company's online store in India. The store customers have already been sent guidance on the issue and suggested immediate actions. We are diligently working to remedy the issue and keep our customers protected."

In the past we have seen loss of a lot of user data especially with the Sony PlayStation hack, which was the highlight of 2011.