Massive Twitch Hack Exposes Source Code and Top Streamer Payouts
A major cyberattack on Twitch leaks 125GB of sensitive data, including internal source code and three years of creator earnings. The hacked information reveals that the platform's top streamers collectively earn tens of millions of dollars.
A massive cyberattack targets Amazon's game streaming platform Twitch, exposing 125GB of sensitive data on the 4chan message board. An anonymous hacker releases a torrent file that allegedly contains the entire history of the site's code, internal Amazon web services tools, and proprietary security software. Twitch confirms the breach through a official social media post, acknowledging that the cyberattack compromises significant portions of their internal network.
The leaked data provides a rare look at the financial workings of the streaming giant by revealing creator payout reports from the past three years. The documents show that the highest-earning streamer takes home $9.6 million between August 2019 and October 2021, while the top ten earners collectively make over $50 million. Additionally, the leak uncovers plans for an unreleased digital distribution platform code-named Vapor, which is designed to compete directly with Steam.
Because the scope of the breach includes user comment history and internal security tools, experts advise all Twitch users to change their passwords immediately and enable two-factor authentication. The hacker hints that additional data dumps could follow this initial release. As the top game-streaming site with 30 million daily viewers, Twitch faces intense scrutiny over how it handles this unprecedented security failure and protects its massive global community.