In a Shock to Absolutely No One, Forcing Discord to Collect Your ID Led to Your ID Getting Leaked
Well, well, well. If it isn't the completely predictable consequences of the goverment’’s actions. A third-party company handling Discord's age verification got hacked, and now 70,000 ID photos are out in the open.
Let me put on my most surprised face. Oh, wait, I can't find it. Discord has announced a data breach, and it's a special kind of stupid. No, the platform itself wasn't hacked. Instead, a third-party company they hired to handle their customer support got its doors blown off by hackers.
And what, pray tell, was stolen? Just the incredibly sensitive personal information they were forced to collect because of a moral panic over age verification. You just have to love it when a plan comes together.
The Gory Details
According to a report from the BBC, the breach may have exposed a lovely cocktail of your personal data. This includes the aforementioned ID photos of around 70,000 users, other personal info, partial credit card details, and any messages you might have exchanged with Discord's customer service agents.
Discord is rushing to assure everyone that no full credit card details, passwords, or your private server messages were part of the leak. They claim all affected users have been contacted and that they're now working with law enforcement. Small comfort, I'm sure, to the people whose government IDs are now floating around the dark web.
The Blame Game
In a classic case of corporate hot potato, Discord has been quick to point out that their own systems were not compromised. They've revoked the third-party vendor's access but haven't publicly named the company responsible for the security failure.
Interestingly, Zendesk, a major customer service provider for them, proactively stated that it wasn't them, claiming their systems were secure. Meanwhile, Discord is also fighting off claims that the breach is bigger than they're letting on. They're calling the allegations an extortion attempt and vowing not to "reward those responsible for their illegal actions."
So, Why Did They Have Your ID Anyway?
Let's get to the real heart of this fuck-up. Why was a third-party contractor sitting on a server filled with 70,000 pictures of our driver's licenses in the first place? The answer is simple: because they were forced to.
This entire mess is the direct result of the ongoing moral panic and legislative push for mandatory age verification online. In response to pressure about policing "bad content," platforms like Discord have been strong-armed into implementing stricter age checks.
This created a massive, centralized honeypot of unchangeable personal data. It's the exact kind of data cybercriminals absolutely adore. It was never a question of if this data would be breached, but when and how badly.
This isn't just a Discord problem; it's a preview of our digital future. As governments around the world continue to push these invasive laws, get ready to see this exact same headline again and again. First Discord, then Steam, then Xbox, then PlayStation, then Itch.io.
They created a system where we have to hand over our most sensitive data to prove we're old enough to see a meme, and now they'll act surprised when that data gets stolen. You just have to love it. Absolutely love it.