Earlier this week, an anonymous user posted a link to a 125GB torrent on 4chan. The torrent allegedly contained all of Twitch’s source code, comments going back to its inception, and more information. An attacker is claiming to have stolen all pieces of valuable data from the online streaming platform, including source code and user-payout information. Twitch has since confirmed the data breach and the legitimacy of the files. There is some speculation over the attacker’s motivations, with some claiming that the disruption was a statement aiming to mess with the online-video streaming space due to toxic environments.
Twitch stated that it had identified and patched a vulnerability in its proactive filters that should be able to filter out hate speech in the chat. It had also claimed that it was planning to launch channel-level ban evasion detection efforts and improve the account verification process. The announcements came just days after LGBTQ and Black streamers faced a slew of hate speech including racism, homophobia, and transphobia. The streamers boycotted the service. It appears that it is likely that the attacker is seeking to make a statement on what types of speech Twitch allows its users to get away with.
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