Microsoft has questioned the validity of claims that credit card details can be retrieved even after an Xbox 360 has been reset to factory settings. A group of researchers has claimed that had managed to do just that with little more than basic modifying tools. Microsoft, which manufactures the Xbox 360, has come out guns blazing, strenuously denying that this is possible.

Microsoft has told Pocket-lint that it has asked the research team, based in Philadelphia,  to provide information that will enable it to carry out its own research. So far the research team has failed to come respond.

“Xbox is not designed to store credit card data locally on the console, and as such it seems unlikely credit card data was recovered by the method described,” says Jim Alkove, General Manager, Security, Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft.

Microsoft is keen to reassure gamers that personal information, including credit card details, remains secure even after a console has been refurbished or reset.

To its credit Microsoft isn’t shying away from this latest controversy and the ball is now very much back in the court of the researchers. We’ll be sure to keep you posted on any developments.

Do you have concerns about how secure your console is? Let us know...

- New concerns over Xbox 360 security as credit card details retrieved