While he did not comment directly on the report, Xbox Live Director of Programming Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb gave Shacknews a brief response. "We don't release numbers, but we are actively taking action to protect the service all the time," he said. Shacknews also received a similar sounding official statement from Microsoft that said:

While we don't comment on specific numbers, we have taken action against consoles that have been modified and were used to play pirated game discs. In line with our commitment to combat piracy, and support safer and more secure gameplay for the more than 20 million members of our Xbox LIVE community, we are banning these modded consoles from Xbox LIVE.

While not specifically mentioned, this move conspicuously coincides with the launch of Modern Warfare 2. Given the game's heavy online component and already reported piracy issues some connection seems a likely conclusion.