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Twitch, the popular game streaming service, confirms that its data has been hacked
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Updated October 6, 2021 at 4:43 PM ET
The popular game streaming service Twitch has confirmed it suffered what appears to be a major data breach.
The Amazon-owned company, which has more than 7 million creators streaming every month, made the announcement in a statement Wednesday on Twitter.
"We can confirm a breach has taken place. Our teams are working with urgency to understand the extent of this," the company said.
NPR could not independently verify specific details about the data breach, but according to the website Video Games Chronicle, an anonymous hacker posted 125 gigabytes worth of Twitch data to the online chat forum 4chan. The data released reportedly includes the source code for the site, details of creator payouts and names of the company's clients.
The anonymous 4chan user who allegedly posted the Twitch data said they did so to "foster more disruption and competition in the online video streaming space," according to Video Games Chronicle.
Since its launch in 2011, Twitch has surged in popularity, allowing gamers to live-stream while they play so that fans can follow the action in real time. Amazon purchased the company in 2014 for $970 million.
In recent years, the platform has even drawn in politicians like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who have turned to Twitch as a way to engage with younger voters.
Editor's note: Amazon is among NPR's financial supporters.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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