Summary

  • 4chan, the image-sharing website, has been targeted in a major hack, with claims that the site’s source code has been published and the /qa/ discussion board reopened.
  • A user on a rival platform claimed responsibility on Monday night and said that they had readded the /qa/ board.
  • 4chan is well known for its lack of credibility and refusal to admit to any wrongdoing, and for having ties to the far-right, having been used as a base by Anonymous and later becoming a hub for extremism.
  • The unverified rumours suggest that the data leak includes the emails of moderators, which were posted on Twitter, but a senior researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue believes these emails are not legitimate.
  • 4chan has not confirmed the breach, but according to TechCrunch, an error message on the site’s homepage acknowledges the breach, citing “defacement” as the cause.

By Emma Roth

Original Article