Interactive livestreaming service Twitch is hacked, exposing source code
There was no confirmation about any usernames and passwords being included in the data that has been breached. That the Twitch app source code has been leaked is a matter of concern
The interactive live-streaming service Twitch has been hacked. The company, which is owned by Amazon, has confirmed the breach even as it is yet to know its extent. There is clarity on some of the specific user data that has been leaked, including creator payouts on Twitch as well as the source code for the mobile, desktop, and video game console versions of the app. There seems to be a concerted effort by the hackers to share Twitch’s tools and codes rather than individual account details.
An anonymous user on messaging board 4chan has released a 125GB file dump downloadable as a torrent file with the claim that it includes all of Twitch’s commit history. That includes the payout data for Twitch creators, believed to be for the last three years, or about 2.4 million streamers active on the platform. There was no confirmation about any usernames and passwords being included in the data that has been breached. That the Twitch app source code has been leaked is a matter of concern.
While it is believed that Twitch usernames and passwords have not been leaked, there may be the chance that those details have been accessed by hackers, who have not just revealed those yet. It may just be prudent to change your Twitch account password while enabling the two-factor authentication.
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“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 said in a statement. The breach also includes Twitch’s internal security tools.
The data breach also involves details about a Stream competitor, codenamed Vapour that is as yet unreleased. Steam is one of the most popular game distribution platforms.
The breach also includes codes related to the Amazon Web Services that Twitch uses, which pretty much reveals the very technical skeleton of the entire Twitch platform.
Twitch has been facing criticism recently for struggling to tackle online harassment on the platform. In August, Twitch streamers stayed away from the platform for a day to protest what they believe is a lack of any action from the company to tackle harassment.