ID Photos of Tens of Thousands of Accounts Could Have Been Compromised, According to Discord
Discord, a chat application popular with gamers, reports that official ID photos of approximately 70,000 users may have been exposed in the wake of a cyber-attack.
External Provider Targeted
The platform, which has more than 200 million users globally, confirms that cybercriminals had compromised a firm that was responsible for authenticating the age verification of its members but Discord's own systems was not directly affected.
Users can provide ID photos to authenticate their age bracket on Discord - a networking hub for players to chat and exchange content with other members in the video game ecosystem.
Range of Data Exposure
The compromised details may involve private data, fragmentary financial data and messages that were shared with Discord's customer service agents.
Entire financial data remained secure, passwords, or correspondence and platform usage beyond conversations with Discord's customer support agents were exposed, the firm confirmed.
Remedial Steps
Every affected account holder have been contacted and Discord is working with law enforcement to probe the situation, it stated further.
The platform announced it has revoked the external company's entry into the infrastructure that was affected by the intrusion. Discord chose not to specify the external provider involved.
Contradictory Statements
Some internet observers have alleged that the security incident was larger than Discord has revealed.
A spokesperson for Discord declared that those assertions are inaccurate and "part of an attempt to coerce funds" from the company.
"We will not reward those responsible for their criminal activities," the company official further stated.
Value of Individual Details
Cybercriminals frequently target personal data, which can command a high price on the underground economy for utilization in deceptive practices.
Data such as entire names and government identification codes is highly sought-after because, in contrast to financial data, it usually persists unaltered across extended periods.
Previous Security Steps
Discord has previously enhanced its age-verification measures in response to worries that particular communities on the application were being employed to share inappropriate and harmful content.
- About 70,000 users affected
- Partner authentication service provider compromised
- Incomplete payment details possibly leaked
- Support communications may have been accessed
- Police involved in investigation
