Building a strong streaming channel means that months or even years of consistent hard work go into it. No matter where your content is posted - on Twitch - you are still going to have to put in time, be it in a Discord server community or creating videos on YouTube. Your accounts on all of these platforms serve more purposes than just logging in. They store your fans, your monetization data, any custom integrations, e.g., Blerp, potential sponsors that are interested in you, and all the loyalty and trust of your viewers that have been earned over the years.
On the flip side, creators' accounts are nowadays very often targeted by computer hackers. Once the attacker gets a foothold on the account, the hacker can get your streaming channel blocked, release private or confidential community materials, or your reputation may suffer serious damage. The best part about this threat, though, is that by developing some good habits related to digital privacy, you can dramatically decrease the risk of losing everything that your hard work has produced.
Why Are Streamer Accounts Always On The Hackers' Radar?
You've already learned that personal social media handles are different from creators' ones because the latter are monetized assets most of the time. The creators' accounts can earn through ad revenue or by direct support via donations, or even through selling merchandise. Hackers are only too happy to exploit situations like that because they will either get their hands on the financial part or they will use the hack to scam money out of loyal followers.
Many creators today rely heavily on external software or third-party tools to enhance streaming overlays, chat moderation alerts, analytics, and fan-engagement features of their content. While these tools can help them to simplify their work processes or even completely automate certain parts, they also increase the number of different accounts and levels of permissions that must be kept secure. Also, multiply the number of accounts and levels of permissions that are to be safeguarded. The result is that it becomes quite difficult for the creator if he or she decides to go alone on the entire protection process.
Stay Watchful for Phishing Scams
Phishing is a major problem for the content that is posted online by creators.
If the creator receives a counterfeit sponsorship email, a forged Twitch notice, or a faked YouTube copyright alert, they will probably visit the link to learn more and then click a malicious link leading them to a site looking like the legitimate one. After inputting their credentials, the account can be taken over right away by the attacker.
If you want to prevent yourself from being deceived, follow these measures before clicking on any link
Your first defense is to check that this email has a real and legitimate origin and that no one is impersonating someone else or lying by email by providing the source identification.
To check out the details of the site, you can go to the website platform yourself instead of following the email links.
Watch out for emails with a tone of urgency or messages saying your account will be closed.
A lot of accounts are compromised because of phishing emails, which are just well-written and do not necessarily require hacking skills.
Never Reuse Passwords Across Platforms
Using the same password for multiple accounts is still one of the top security errors that users make.
If a hacker obtained a password from another site in a leak and it is not related to yours, perhaps they will try the same combination on your Twitch, Discord, YouTube, email, etc., accounts and other services. The name for hacking in this way is 'credential stuffing,' and this method has resulted in the theft of thousands of accounts.
So, each of your accounts deserves an entirely different password. In addition, with a password manager, like Proton Pass, the burden is greatly relieved since it can not only generate unique passwords for Twitch, Discord, YouTube, and so on, but also securely keep them, so you won't have to remember each one individually.
Use Two-Factor Authentication Wherever Possible
The best password protection is not just having the perfect password. Two-factor authentication is an additional layer of protection that forces the use of a second verification method when a user logs in from a new device.
Suppose you have lost your password; the thief who took it without your knowledge couldn't access the contents of your account until a second authentication code was given to him, i.e., a two-factor authentication code.
Turn this feature on for what comes next platforms:
Twitch
Discord
YouTube (Google Account)
Email account
In case of a security breach where you are forced to lose access to your accounts for a few days, having these tools ready for backup will come in very handy.
Your e-mail account should get the top priority when implementing security measures since it is the one that is used the most frequently when recovering any of your accounts, besides being the one you get password resets and new account verification messages.
Keep Tabs on the Third-party Applications in Line
Frequently, creators attach a large number of tools to their accounts, which will eventually lead them to run their streaming business. If you manage a Discord community, there is an international Discord Safety Center that offers tips on identifying scams, securing your account, and making your servers community-server safe.
To give you some examples, these tools like bots, overlays, music tools, moderation software, browser extensions, or analytics platforms often ask for a huge set of permissions. In fact, most of the time you forget about their existence, so they stay authorized indefinitely.
You should spend some time every couple of months on what comes next:
Delete the apps that are not getting any attention anymore.
Go through your account permission listing.
Remove the browser extensions that you are not using anymore.
Only purchase software developed by vendors that you trust completely.
If you limit the number of different third-party services your account shares and connects with, then in the event those services get hacked, the level of your exposure because of such an incident will be much lower, and the degree of account damage will just be minor.
The reason for that is that cyber threats keep evolving, which means that website owners must keep on monitoring their internet security.
Keep Learning about Cyber Threats
The government-run Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) gives some of the most credible expert security tips and information in the US. The United States government has it, and they are one of the most reputable sources there for you about security issues. You can get regular advice and tips about identifying phishing attacks, using multi-factor authentication, and enhancing individual cybersecurity at CISA.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), United Kingdom, UK, is another excellent source of information. Their content creator-friendly guide covers account protection, password security, and combating common online scams.
Creators who follow well-organized security groups can keep on a step ahead of emerging attack methods.
Guard Against Community Destruction
If you become inactive or lose access to your streaming platform accounts like Twitch or YouTube, it isn't only your content schedule that is broken. It can also strain your relations with your audience, moderators, sponsors, and other supporters.
Monitoring those connected apps when changing Passwords often, setting up two-step verification, protecting yourself against phishing by not opening suspicious emails, and developing good habits of internet safety are all ways of minimizing the risk of account compromise.
Protecting your channel, content, and loyal community may take just a few minutes of your time a week, but it'll be very well worth it to do so.