Twitch has been hit with a massive hack and the source code for the entire platform on mobile, desktop, and games consoles has been posted online. Internal security tools, SDKs, and data on other products including an unreleased Steam competitor from Amazon Game Studios have also been posted.
On top of all that, three years of payment data to Twitch streamers has also been released.
The gross payouts of the top 100 highest-paid Twitch streamers from August 2019 until October 2021: pic.twitter.com/3Lj9pb2aBl
— KnowSomething (@KnowS0mething) October 6, 2021
The Verge have confirmed that the data is legitimate but the leak is labelled “part one” so it seems more will be added to the huge 125gb initial file. At present no personal data such as usernames or passwords have been published. Twitch as said to be aware of the data breach internally but so far have not posted any official outward facing confirmation.
While no personal data has been leaked so far we do recommend that your change your Twitch password immediately. You should also turn on 2-step authentication, you can find this in the Security and Privacy menu in the settings of the Twitch app.
The hacker has said the data was released to “foster more disruption and competition in the online video streaming space” and because “their community is a disgusting toxic cesspool”.
Twitch is has been having issues over the past few weeks with ‘hate raids’ occurring on the platform. These are targeted attacks, usually against a minority streamer, in which one person sends hundreds of bots to the persons stream and the bots start posting racist, homophobic, or other extreme language in the streamers chat.
Many streamers took part in a twenty-four hour boycott of the platform to make Twitch do something about the hate raids. Twitch responded by saying “We’ve been building channel-level ban evasion detection and account improvements to combat this malicious behaviour for months. However, as we work on solutions, bad actors work in parallel to find ways around them – which is why we can’t always share details.”
Twitch recently added over 350 tags related to gender, sexual orientation, race, and a new hot tubs category.
Source: VGC
