Xbox 360, PS3 and Nintendo DS banned in jails due to terrorism fears

Jail is a place where prisoners are given the most basic of creature comforts, with a few perks added in if they’ve been behaving nicely. Unfortunately for them, videogames may soon be struck off that list.

Authorities have recently banned Sony‘s PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS from prisons, fearing that these consoles may be used for a completely different purpose other than next-gen gameplay.

Yes, you read that right. According to British tabloid The Sun, security experts have deemed the two next-gen consoles and the handheld to be a device that could potentially aid in acts of terrorism, citing that the consoles contain software that enables users to send or receive radio signals.

This “software” would then be used to contact outside accomplices and organizations to coordinate and plot terrorist attacks. Hence, the banning.

And it seems that last-gen consoles are not safe, as security experts have also warned against the PlayStation 2 also being used as a covert communication device. Inmates may be forced to give up their slim black consoles as well if authorities do decide on tossing it into the same list as the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo DS.

While jails are certainly a strange place for videogame consoles, it’s stranger that the authorities are banning them simply because of their connectivity. While the Nintendo DS could be a threat with Pictochat, it doesn’t have the range to contact the outside world.

And if they’re that worried about prisoners sending messages to the outside using the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, wouldn’t forbidding them to be plugged into the internet be enough of a security measure? Let us know what you think by your comments below.

Jail is a place where prisoners are given the most basic of creature comforts, with a few perks added in if they’ve been behaving nicely. Unfortunately for them, videogames may soon be struck off that list.

Authorities have recently banned Sony‘s PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS from prisons, fearing that these consoles may be used for a completely different purpose other than next-gen gameplay.

Yes, you read that right. According to British tabloid The Sun, security experts have deemed the two next-gen consoles and the handheld to be a device that could potentially aid in acts of terrorism, citing that the consoles contain software that enables users to send or receive radio signals.

This “software” would then be used to contact outside accomplices and organizations to coordinate and plot terrorist attacks. Hence, the banning.

And it seems that last-gen consoles are not safe, as security experts have also warned against the PlayStation 2 also being used as a covert communication device. Inmates may be forced to give up their slim black consoles as well if authorities do decide on tossing it into the same list as the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo DS.

While jails are certainly a strange place for videogame consoles, it’s stranger that the authorities are banning them simply because of their connectivity. While the Nintendo DS could be a threat with Pictochat, it doesn’t have the range to contact the outside world.

And if they’re that worried about prisoners sending messages to the outside using the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, wouldn’t forbidding them to be plugged into the internet be enough of a security measure? Let us know what you think by your comments below.