Discord, a messaging platform popular among gamers, says official photos of about 70,000 users have potentially been leaked online following a cyberattack.
The platform, which has more than 200 million users worldwide, says hackers targeted a firm that helped verify the age of its users, but the Discord platform itself was not hacked.
People can provide photo ID to prove their age on Discord, an online hub where players can chat and share files with other members of the gaming community.
Data leak may include personal information, partial credit card information, and messages exchanged between Discord support agents, says the San Francisco company.
No full credit card information, passwords, or messages or activity beyond conversations with Discord support agents were exposed, the company said.
All affected users have been contacted and Discord is working with law enforcement to investigate the matter, the company added.
The platform said it had revoked the customer support provider's access to the hacked system. Discord did not name the third party company involved.
A spokesman for Discord customer service software provider Zendesk told the BBC that its systems were not compromised and that the hack was not caused by a vulnerability in its platform.
Some online commentators claim the data breach was larger than Discord revealed.
A Discord spokesperson told the BBC that the claims are inaccurate and “are part of an attempt to extort payment.” The spokesperson said the breach was not a ransomware attack.
“We will not reward those responsible for their illegal actions,” the spokesperson added.
Cybercriminals often target personal data, which can be worth a lot on the black market for use in fraud.
Information such as full names and official identification numbers is especially valuable because, unlike credit card information, it typically remains the same over time.
Discord has been there before strengthened age verification measures in response to concerns that some of the platform's servers are being used to distribute pornographic and extremist materials.
