It’s a big week for social media. First, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp go dark for a day. Now, we have a Twitch hack. If you haven’t changed your password lately, go ahead and do that now.
Twitch hacked 2021
The morning of Wed., Oct. 6, Video Games Chronicle (VGC) reported that an anonymous hacker leaked 128GB of data onto 4chan, including the platform’s source code and two years’ worth of creator payout receipts. VGC compiled a list of leaked data, including:
- Twitch’s source code with comment history
- Creator payout reports starting at 2019
- Twitch clients
- Proprietary SDKs (Software Development Kits) and internal AWS (Amazon Web Services) information
- “Every other property that Twitch owns” including IGDB (Intenet Game Database) and gaming site CurseForge
- An unreleased Steam competitor, codenamed Vapor, from Amazon Game Studios
- Twitch internal ‘red teaming’ tools (“designed to improve security by having staff pretend to be hackers”)
“We can confirm a breach has taken place. Our teams are working with urgency to understand the extent of this. We will update the community as soon as additional information is available. Thank you for bearing with us.”
Twitch statement via VGC
Messages from the Twitch hack
We all have one question: Why? The hacker reportedly discussed how Amazon owns Twitch and said “their community is also a disgusting toxic cesspool.” They also wanted to “foster more disruption and competition in the online streaming space.”
Some people believe the hack was a response to hateful content on the platform. Gamepur reported the original post included the hashtag #DoBetterTwitch. The message originated from Twitch creator RekItRaven as a response to hate raids and racist statements on the platform.
How much does a Twitch streamer make?
Now we know. (The entire world knows.) Twitter users are starting to comb through the leaked data, and they’re sharing their findings. User @KnowS0mething created a comprehensive list of notable Twitch streamers and their payouts from the platform. VGC says 81 streamers have gotten over $1 million from the platform since 2019.
Is 2021 the year of the hack? Are you worried about your personal information? Is any online data safe these days?