Thanks to a detailed report by "dogshep" on the Division subreddit, those planning on streaming The Division over the next several weeks may have avoided major problems. Because unfortunately, it looks like Ubisoft's implementation leaves a hole or two that can be exploited in terms of , in particular with being able to see the IP of a person while in the game voice chat. For some, that won't be a problem, but for others, in particular streamers, it will open up a world of problems.

As noted on the Reddit thread, dogshep indicates that when using the in-game voice chat, the Division shows the public IP of the person who's doing the chatting. In particular, it uses UDP and port 33500 to send the voice directly to all players in the group and surrounding areas through proximity communications. Free tools such as Wireshark would be all that is needed for the average person to find out that information.

Sample information shown uploaded by reddit user dogshep.

It is recommended for those streaming the game to use a service such as Discord, which doesn't have the problems in question, and disabling the in game voice chat entirely. Luckily, Ubisoft did put that option in the game, although it's made sorta clear with the text that they knew that this would be a problem from the get go.

On further inspection....this option saying that you put your public IP out there....is sorta stupid.

For those unaware, your IP address is a way of showing yourself on the internet. While it can't translate into a physical location, this information can be used to attack streamers via DDOS, which obviously will affect the way they can do business, if they are being attacked.

Quick Take

Ubisoft, are you freaking serious? That's some basic level networking problems right there. With the rise of swatting and DDOS in today's streaming the world, the last thing that the twitch community needs is someone to get their hands on this basic information, that can lead to even more problems. I thank dogshep for pointing this out, and he should be given all the credit in the world. I'm just hear to pass along the message, as it's important for those involved.