Nintendo Switch uses old internet browser tools, meaning that it could be hacked and taken over

Developers have described the security hole as a 'starting point'

Nintendo's new video game console Switch is displayed at a presentation in Tokyo on January 13, 2017 (KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images)

The Nintendo Switch could be easily hacked into because it relies on old software, according to security experts.

The console has now been available for nearly two weeks, and hackers are discovering vulnerabilities inside the system's software.

The most worrying was found by one developer on Twitter who noticed that the WebKit browser engine, which the Switch uses for a variety of features, can be broken into and taken over. If that happened, hackers could steal data from the device or use it for other malicious purposes.

But it could also mean that the system is able to be hacked in ways that benefit users, too, like allowing people to jailbreak the games system and use their own software.

The problem comes down to the fact that the browser engine on the Switch is now months-old. That engine, which is the same WebKit software built into iPhones and iPads, has to be fixed up regularly when problems are found – but the fact that it is now old means that it is far behind on many of those fixes.

The Switch doesn't have its own web browser for the moment, but WebKit is used for things like connecting to public Wi-Fi networks. Some people have also shown that it's possible to get online in other ways, including forcing it to browse Facebook.

The developer who found the problem, who goes by qwertyoruiop on Twitter, said that the exploit doesn't yet let hackers into the kernel, or most central part of the software.

But the vulnerability is a "starting point", he says, and as such it could let other exploits become available too.