4chan Hacked: Leak Exposes Admin Emails And Site Vulnerabilities

4chan is reeling from a reported hack that leaked admin emails, backend access, and source code online.

The controversial message board 4chan is facing a major security breach after users on a rival forum claimed to have hacked the site and leaked internal data.

The platform experienced an outage starting from late Monday while key forums remained inaccessible and users documented unusual behavior throughout the platform, as first reported by WIRED.

Screenshots shared on Soyjak.party, a competing image board, appear to show 4chan’s backend systems and leaked emails of administrators and moderators, reported WIRED.

The competing image board Soyjak.party shared screenshots as evidence of 4chan backend systems alongside leaked administrator and moderator emails.WIRED says that the attackers also claim to have accessed the site’s source code and posted a taunting message: “U GOT HACKED XD.”

“The content leaked, if genuine, would remove some of the anonymity from 4chan administrators, moderators, and janitors” said Ian Gray, director at cybersecurity firm Flashpoint, as reported by WIRED. He noted that 4chan’s image as an anonymous platform may have given users a “false sense of security.

TechCrunch contacted several of the email addresses exposed in the alleged 4chan breach and managed to speak with one of the individuals behind one of them. A 4chan janitor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that they are “confident” the leaked data and screenshots are “all real.”

The janitor also claimed that the hacker obtained personal information of 4chan Pass subscribers, who are users who pay to remove post limits and enter a VIP section of the site.

Meanwhile The Verge reports that Jared Holt, a senior researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, cautioned against some of the wilder claims, especially those about leaked .edu and .gov email addresses, saying, “the source for this claim was not legit.”

The breach may have been possible due to the site running on outdated software. Some say that 4chan has been running on unpatched systems since 2016.

“It seems true that 4chan hasn’t been properly maintained and patched for years, which might indicate that a hack would have definitely been a possibility,” said Emiliano De Cristofaro, professor of computer science at UC Riverside, as reported by WIRED.

The complete extent of the breach remains unknown but experts warn that the consequences will be severe and this incident could potentially lead to the demise of the notorious online community.