Microsoft is going to be making some pretty big changes to how Party Chat operates in order to make the service more secure for its users. Previous methods of providing party chat had left consumers open to DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks, but that is all about to change.
How Are Party Chat Users Being Targeted?
In a recent Reddit thread, first spotted by Pure Xbox, Redditor u/KinoTheMystic raised concerns about party chat within Rainbow Six: Siege, which is one of the best games to play on the Xbox Game Pass.
They warned other users to be wary about entering into parties with unknown or untrustworthy players, due to the fact that this puts party-chatters at risk of a DDoS attack.
A DDoS attack, or distributed denial-of-service, is a malicious attempt to overload a device with information until it buckles under the weight of the processing requirements. This spells the end for any gaming session that you have underway at the time.
Users are targeted via the Party Chat function that is activated when you accept an invite to a party. Sure, it means you can chat with your friends, but it also means that strangers with ulterior motives can access your IP address and then use it to DDoS your Xbox.
To explain further, if someone from a previous team deathmatch, for example, has a grudge against you and wants to ruin your gaming session, they could invite you to a chat, wait for you to join, and then use your IP address to launch such an attack on you.
How Is Microsoft Fixing Party Chat?
According to Xbox dev, Bill Ridmann, the problem is currently being taken care of by Microsoft. There had been multiple complaints about DDoS attacks from Xbox users, so Microsoft has decided to act and shift Party Chat around a bit.
No longer will Party Chat connections be P2P (peer-to-peer). This is exactly how nefarious accounts were getting hold of users’ IP addresses. Instead, Microsoft plans to shift this to a server-based system instead, meaning that your IP address will be protected from other gamers.
Ridmann also addressed concerns about the same problem arising on mobile gaming platforms, stating that mobile gamers had no need to worry, as any party access via mobile is automatically moved to a server-based Party Chat solution.
A Positive Step from Microsoft
It is encouraging to see that Microsoft is addressing the concerns of its userbase and making Party Chat safer for everyone. Gaming should be fun across the board, despite its often competitive nature.
With the next generation of consoles on the way, whether you go for Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S, at least you know you will be able to game in safety thanks to this positive move from Microsoft.