Discord data breach affects at least 70,000 users

Sedition It has been detected on Wednesday that about 70,000 users may have had sensitive data — such as photos of their government IDs — exposed after hackers compromised a third-party vendor the platform uses for age-related appeals.

A Discord user may file an “age appeal” if the platform suspects they may be underage, or if they live in a place that requires it Identity verification To access the platform. In these cases, users are prompted to do so Send a personal photo Maintain government ID and Discord username for the platform’s Trust and Safety team.

Discord said it has contacted affected users, whose exposed data may also include their IP addresses, which could reveal the general region in which a user lives.

According to the news site 404 mediaThis data breach may be larger than what Discord has reported so far. Hackers claim to have stolen 1.5 terabytes worth of data, which could include more than 70,000 photos. A Discord spokesperson said Edge These allegations are “untrue and part of an attempt to extort money.”

Discord user data breach explains Fears expressed by digital rights activists regarding the use of age verification as a way to make the Internet “safer.”

Age verification lawswhich requires users to upload sensitive information such as government IDs exposed in this breach, has been enacted in about half of US states, typically for Websites Which hosts pornography. Pornhub, one of the most popular adult video sites, has completely blocked traffic from these states to avoid enforcing age verifications.

UK Internet safety lawwhich went into effect in July, requires a wider range of platforms to verify users’ ages, including YouTube, Spotify, Google, X, and Reddit.