Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ face appeared above game categories on Twitch, suggesting the hacker who leaked data earlier this week is still at large.
A hacker recently stole data from Twitch, including its source code and user data, and leaked it on 4chan. The alleged goal was to “foster more disruption and competition in the online video streaming space” because “their community is a disgusting toxic cesspool.”
The data included creator payout reports from 2019, an unreleased Steam competitor from Amazon Game Studios (codenamed Vapor), and more. At the time the leaker reportedly stated this is only the first part of the content they plan to leak.
It would seem this has now come true; as there were reports on social media of game category header images replaced with an image of Bezos [1, 2, 3]. Former French Twitch Admin @Saysera69 claims that the image was used when the leaks were posted onto 4chan.
“Seems like it wasn’t just a ‘someone managed to access a backup server and download from it,'” Saysera warns, “but a MUCH bigger security breach.” The change would suggest at worst the hacker still had access to Twitch. They may have also left some form of “trap” to be triggered after a set period of time, or when Twitch staff attempted to investigate and prevent future hacks.
The use of Bezos face may indicate more of the hacker’s motives; if it is the same hacker as the one who perpetrated the data leak. The leaking of the website’s source code would leave it vulnerable to other hackers. Human error seems unlikely, and would be a spectacular or unusual set of circumstances if so.
The desire for more competition in online video streaming may suggest that on top of Twitch having too much control over the market, the support of parent company Amazon and Bezos’ vast wealth means it would be hard for a competitor. It may also help spread awareness to viewers who would otherwise not wish to support Bezos.
While YouTube does offer streaming, there have been little notable streaming services aside from the two titans of YouTube and Twitch. Microsoft’s Mixer closed on July 22nd, 2020; despite having reportedly paid $50 million USD for exclusivity for streamer Ninja. While he returned to YouTube, other exclusive partners moved to Facebook Gaming.
