A catastrophic data breach at Discord’s third-party vendor Zendesk has exposed sensitive user information, including ID documents and selfies uploaded for age verification[1][2]. At least 70,000 people were impacted by the breach, with hackers leaking users’ driver’s licenses, approximate locations, real names, and emails[2:1].
The hackers are attempting to extort Discord and have already shared leaked selfies of users posing with their IDs in a Telegram group, along with a spreadsheet containing detailed information on a thousand users[2:2].
This breach validates critics’ concerns about tech companies collecting sensitive identity documents, particularly in light of recent age verification requirements in countries like the UK[2:3]. As one security expert notes in Gadgeteer, “a password is easy to change, but an ID document is often a nightmare to change, and the ID number anyway stays the same”[3].
Discord says it is working with affected users and authorities but won’t give in to the hackers’ demands[2:4].
(Fucking paywall article)
Summary
A catastrophic data breach at Discord’s third-party vendor Zendesk has exposed sensitive user information, including ID documents and selfies uploaded for age verification[1][2]. At least 70,000 people were impacted by the breach, with hackers leaking users’ driver’s licenses, approximate locations, real names, and emails[2:1].
The hackers are attempting to extort Discord and have already shared leaked selfies of users posing with their IDs in a Telegram group, along with a spreadsheet containing detailed information on a thousand users[2:2].
This breach validates critics’ concerns about tech companies collecting sensitive identity documents, particularly in light of recent age verification requirements in countries like the UK[2:3]. As one security expert notes in Gadgeteer, “a password is easy to change, but an ID document is often a nightmare to change, and the ID number anyway stays the same”[3].
Discord says it is working with affected users and authorities but won’t give in to the hackers’ demands[2:4].
404 Media - The Discord Hack is Every User’s Worst Nightmare ↩︎
The Flagship Eclipse - Discord Suffers Major Hack Making Users’ Worst Nightmare Come True ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Gadgeteer - The Discord Hack is Every User’s Worst Nightmare — Why Uploaded IDs are a Problem ↩︎