# Infamous Message Board 4chan Taken Down Following Major Hack

The infamous online forum 4chan was taken offline earlier today, following a major hack that has left the community reeling. The site, which has been online for over two decades since its launch in 2003 by Christopher Poole, commonly known as moot, has been plagued by controversy and criticism throughout its existence.

## A Brief History of 4chan

4chan, an imageboard forum where users can share images, text posts, and engage in discussions on a wide range of topics, has long been a hub for anonymity and free speech. However, this has also made it a breeding ground for harassment, hate speech, and other forms of toxic behavior.

## The Hack

According to sources close to the incident, 4chan was taken down following a significant hack that exposed personal information of various staff members, moderators, and janitors (less privileged mods who help moderate the forums). Members of the Soyjak.party imageboard, also known as The Party, claimed responsibility for the attack, which they dubbed "soyclipse."

## Leaked Screenshots and Code

In a thread posted on their own message board, one of the attackers, using the handle Chud, shared multiple screenshots and code snippets that seemed to prove the hacker's access to 4chan's staff administration panels and maintenance tools. These tools, which included features such as:

* Access to any user's location and IP address * Rebuilding or restarting any 4chan boards * Viewing site statistics and managing databases using phpMyAdmin panel

were allegedly used by the hacker to gain unauthorized access to sensitive areas of the forum.

## Possible Breach

While details about how the hacker gained access to 4chan's systems are still unclear, some experts believe that the forum's use of a severely outdated PHP version from 2016 may have left it vulnerable to exploitation. This lack of updates could have potentially been exploited by hackers seeking to gain unauthorized access.

## Aftermath

As of now, 4chan remains offline, and its staff is working to restore the site to full functionality. However, some users are reporting intermittent loading issues, suggesting that the site may be partially compromised.

The 4chan hack has sparked concerns about online security and the potential for cyber attacks on vulnerable websites. As one user noted, "Tonight has been a very special night for many of us at the Soyjak party... We've shown the world what we're capable of."

## References:

* Kiwi Farms (previously known as CWCki Forums): [https://kiwifarms.net](https://kiwifarms.net) * Chud's thread: [https://soyjak.party/thread/](https://soyjak.party/thread/) * 4chan's PHP source code leak: [https://kiwifarms.net/](https://kiwifarms.net/)