Following a massive security breach, Twitch says it doesn't believe any passwords or full credit card numbers were exposed; customer impact is minimal, meaning viewers can rest assured that their accounts are safe. That said, some sensitive data did trickle out, as thousands of Twitch streamers had their payouts leaked. Although not every single payout has been confirmed to be authentic, streamers like Ludwig have confirmed theirs are real, giving the breach some legitimacy.
The Twitch security breach has resulted in a variety of otherwise confidential information being leaked. Beyond the creator payouts, the breach has revealed that Twitch is or was reportedly working on a competitor to Steam. There's not a lot of information regarding the service, but Amazon seemingly wants to double down on gaming with game development and its own marketplace, similar to Valve. Along with this, Twitch's source code was also leaked, but it doesn't seem like anything of substance has happened as a result of that thus far. Some feared that personal data would be leaked, but Twitch has confirmed that's not the case.
Following the leak, Twitch has put out a blog post to clarify what may or may not have been compromised. Twitch says it's "confident" that the systems that contain login credentials and any banking information was not accessed in the breach, meaning users shouldn't have to worry about their info being compromised. Some users may want to change passwords for peace of mind, but Twitch says the customer impact is "minimal."
"The exposed data primarily contained documents from Twitch’s source code repository, as well as a subset of creator payout data. We’ve undergone a thorough review of the information included in the files exposed and are confident that it only affected a small fraction of users and the customer impact is minimal. We are contacting those who have been impacted directly."
Earlier this month, Twitch explained how the leak happened, noting that it was partially the company's fault. A "server configuration change" allowed for a third party to gain access to the materials that have now surfaced online. The issue has since been resolved and Twitch is taking steps to further the security of the service. There will reportedly be a second part to the leak, though the specifics of what else might be shared remain ambiguous.
The initial leaker noted that they wanted to cause disruption for the streaming platform because it's a "toxic cesspool," referencing recent complaints users have had regarding poorly moderated "hate raids" and harassment on the service. Although this breach could've been worse had passwords and credit card details been leaked, Twitch has inadvertently caused some distrust within its community. Top streamers reacted with annoyance knowing that anyone could now see how much income they are bringing in. Whether or not this disruption could lead some streamers to move to platforms like YouTube, following streamers like TimTheTatMan, remains to be seen.
Source: Twitch