Gamergate Protests E3 Expo Leak Even as It Stands to Gain the Most from It

The confidential data of more than 2,000 journalists had reportedly been publicly accessible through the E3 expo site for quite some time, with the ESA only acting very late to remove it. This major data breach was first spotted by Sophia Narwitz — a clandestine video game reporter of sorts on YouTube — but what the circumstances of this discovery largely overlook, is the problematic dimensions of who unveiled them in the first place, as well as a lesson to journalists on how to deal with sensitive information and prioritizing individuals’ safety before clicks and engagement ratings.

Narwitz dropped her video very recently describing the circumstances under which the discovery of this data was made. Apparently, if you went to the relevant section on E3’s website, there was a way to download a spreadsheet including information provided by journalists going to E3 upon entry. The only way the existence of such a link could be justified, is if it were made to the benefit of ESA employees-basically as a beacon for everyone to quickly reference information and not have to sift through an endless pile of data just to pull out information when needed. However, and as should be obvious, this data should’ve never been publicly accessible in the first place. It would’ve been one thing if this file was encrypted or sealed off with…