Joshua Kane

Microsoft Permanently Locks Hacked Account After Security Changes, Erasing 25 Years of OneDrive Data and Purchases

A streamer named Joshua Kane lost access to his Microsoft account containing 25 years of digital files, family photos, and purchased content after it was compromised by an attacker who altered security settings. Microsoft confirmed the account belonged to him and had been breached but refused to restore access, citing internal policies that prevent manual recovery once security information is changed by an unauthorized party. The company stated that OneDrive content cannot be extracted due to its encryption architecture and privacy protections, leaving the data permanently inaccessible even to Microsoft engineers. Kane was advised to create a new account and repurchase games and services, while the incident quickly gained over two million views on social media and prompted other users to share similar experiences. The case underscores the risks of insufficient account protection and the permanent consequences of account takeovers when two-factor authentication and backup strategies are not properly implemented.