Hackers have revealed private information regarding the company, payouts for their creators as well as an unreleased Steam competitor from Amazon Game studios.
According to a report from VGC, streaming giant Twitch has been hacked. An anonymous user has apparently posted a 125GB torrent link to 4chan. VGC has confirmed the post is real and the file is accessible for users to download. The intent of the leak is to cause "more disruption and competition in the online streaming space.
The hackers found the following information:
- The entirety of Twitch's comment history which dates backs to its "early beginnings".
- Source code for an array of devices that use Twitch's client, including Mobile, Desktop and games console.
- Three years worth of content creator payouts.
- Related code for propierety SDK's and Internal AWS services that are used by Twitch.
- An unreleased Steam competitor that is codenamed Vapor from Amazon Game Studios.
- Twitch's internal security tools.
The VGC report suggests users on social media have started to dig through the files and they have apparently found encrypted passwords. Twitch is not the first major online company to go down this week, major social media sites such as Facebook and Whatsapp also went down.
Users should now opt in to using two-factor authentication on their Twitch accounts. Although this does not prevent the account's password from being compromised, you will be able to prove your identity through SMS/Authenticator app to access the app.
Twitch Confirms Breach
In a tweet, Twitch has since confirmed that a breach has taken place. The streaming giant is still working on understanding the scope of the leak and will provide additional information soon.
The leak consists of 128 GB of data and included payout numbers to the biggest streamers on the platform. There is allegedly a second part to the leak, which could reveal more information, and maybe, even include user data.
Twitch hack reveals earnings of major content creators
One of the biggest talking points from the Twitch leak is the earnings for their major content creators over the last three years. Notable streamers such as NICKMERCS, TimTheTatMan, and xQc have raked in millions from the platform. It is important to note this is not from donations, sponsors and merchandise, etc. This is purely the payout they have received from the streaming platform since 2019.
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Vapor is Amazon's competitor to Steam
The leak also contains code for a game called VapeWorld which looks like it is a chat-based software based on Vapor, Amazon's unreleased Steam competitor.
It is no secret that Amazon is investing heavily into gaming. The e-commerce giant bought Twitch for $970 million in 2014. Amazon has invested and backed its game development studios that recently had a massive success with New World. It seems Amazon is also working on creating a competitor to Steam's dominance in PC Gaming, codenamed Vapor. According to sources, Vapor integrates many of the existing features on Steam and might also bring game-specific support like Fortnite and PUBG.
How to Set up Two-Factor Authentication on Twitch?
Two-Factor Authentication allows users add another layer of security to their Twitch accounts. Here is how to set up 2FA on your Twitch account.
- Go to Security and Privacy settings page.
- Select Enable 2FA.
- Enter Phone Number and continue.
- Enter the 7 digit verification code you receive via text message and continue.
- Users can also set up 2FA using Authentication Apps such as Google Authenticator, Authy and more.
We strongly recommend changing your passwords and setting up 2FA if you haven't already. Also keep your backup codes in a safe place.
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