Twitch resets account passwords after hack

Users of the popular game streaming service Twitch were told they’d have to reset their stream keys and reset their passwords on Monday, after the San Francisco-based startup reported unauthorized access on some accounts.

The post-hack warning appeared two hours after the website and service went offline for maintenance Monday afternoon. Once services were restored, some users reported login problems. The company posted the warning less than an hour later.

The post didn’t reference any indicators, so how the incident occurred remains a mystery. It’s also unknown how many accounts were impacted, as Twitch says that affected users will be contacted directly. At last check, some 55 million accounts had been registered on the service, which was purchased by Amazon last year for $970 million.

We are writing to let you know that there may have been unauthorized access to some Twitch user account information.

For your protection, we have expired passwords and stream keys and have disconnected accounts from Twitter and YouTube. As a result, you will be prompted to create a new password the next time you attempt to log into your Twitch account.

We also recommend that you change your password at any website where you use the same or a similar password. We will communicate directly with affected users with additional details.

Sincerely,

Twitch Staff

Anyone having issues resetting their passwords are encouraged to file a help request. Likewise, those who have not yet received a password reset email are being told to check their Spam folders first, or they can also file a help request.

Along with a warning, Twitch provided some steps to creating a stronger password, ultimately suggesting that users use a “reputable password manager with a random password generator.”