E3 Security Breach Doxes Thousands of Gaming Journalists

E3 is, without a doubt, one of the biggest gaming events of the year where we often see various game developers reveal (or at least hint) to their next big release. It seems, however, that a major security faux pas with the organisers has led to some very serious problems.

In a report via CNN, an accidental security breach has revealed the personal and private information of over 2,000 industry journalists, YouTubers and analysts.

E3 Security Breach Reveals Thousands of Journalists Private Information

So, what exactly happened? Well, E3, on their official website, posted a list of over 2,000 peoples private information. This included their full names, contact information, media outlet/s etc. You get the idea. This information, however, as you might expect, wasn’t to be made public. It was, essentially, a list to be provided to various developers, journalists or social media influencers to allow for the organisation of specific coverage. Basically a ‘cheat sheet’ to help developers and journalists organise publicity.

Despite the list being now removed, it has already been making the rounds online. A move that has reportedly already led to harassment and threats (including allegations of intended harm) against various people on the list. Mostly, we would expect, YouTubers and ‘social media influencers’. They are, after all, always a target of trolls.

A Major Problem

Despite this list now being removed, it has caused a huge headache for the E3 organisers. Put simply, if legal action is taken, it could see E3’s organisers fined anything up to €20,000,000. A fine that could, potentially, kill off the event next year. Perhaps even entirely with a drop in trust and credibility.

The real question is, however, what can E3 do to fix this? Well, the short answer is, not a lot at this point. The damage has already been done. We’ve just got to wait and see what the fallout is now. It is, however, hard to understate just how serious a breach this is!

What do you think? Can E3 fix this problem? Will this impact on the future of the event? Do you know someone who was named on the list? – Let us know in the comments!