The End of 4chan? A Hacker's Attack Exposes Source Code, Moderators

For years, 4chan has been a breeding ground for some of the worst content on the internet, earning it notoriety as a hotbed for hate speech, harassment, and online toxicity. But in a shocking turn of events, the site may be facing an irreversible fate following a devastating hack that exposed its inner workings.

A user on Soyjak.party took credit for the attack, posting screenshots that allegedly showed 4chan's source code and a list of moderators' email addresses. The Soyjak.party users then began doxxing the accounts included in the data leak, exposing the identities of the site's moderators.

A "janitor" (or junior moderator) who was listed in the leak spoke to TechCrunch, expressing concern about 4chan's fate. "I'd wager that the fact that 4chan was effectively taken over by a hacker(s) is probably 'worse' than screenshots, at least from the perspective of the site's continued operation," they said.

UC Riverside computer science and engineering professor Emiliano De Cristofaro weighed in on the potential consequences of the hack, stating that 4chan's years of neglect and lack of maintenance may have made it vulnerable to this attack. "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," he said.

"There might be some 'high profile' users exposed as moderators — traditionally, 4chan users hate them, so they might be targeted," Professor De Cristofaro warned. "It might be hard or at least painfully slow and costly for 4chan to recover from this, so we might really see the end of 4chan as we know it."

"If that's the case, the final words posted on 4chan may be 'CHICKEN JOCKEY,' as The A.V. Club humorously pointed out," noting the site's long history of eccentric content and memes.

The hack serves as a stark reminder of the importance of online security and the potential consequences for platforms that prioritize profits over user safety. As 4chan teeters on the brink of collapse, it's hard not to feel a sense of schadenfreude at the site's downfall.

The future of 4chan hangs in the balance, and only time will tell if the site can recover from this devastating blow. One thing is certain, however: the era of 4chan as we know it is coming to an end.