Notorious Internet Messageboard 4chan Hacked, Posts Claim May Have Exposed Details of Moderators

The notorious internet messageboard 4chan has been hacked, according to posts circulating online, some of which claimed that the hacker involved had revealed identifying details of the site's moderators to the public. The alleged hack first came to light when a defunct section of the site sprang back to life with the ominous words "U GOT HACKED" emblazoned across the top, as reported by Wired magazine.

Alon Gal, co-founder of Israeli cybercrime monitoring company Hudson Rock, said that the claim of a hack "looks legit," citing the publicly circulating screenshots purporting to show 4chan's backend infrastructure. TechCrunch cited an unnamed 4chan moderator as saying they had no reason to dispute the authenticity of the screenshots, and the site was only intermittently available on Tuesday.

The situation is still developing, with Reuters unable to immediately confirm the details of the incident or who might be behind the alleged hack. Messages sent to 4chan's press email went unreturned. One of the two dozen or so alleged moderators purportedly exposed in the hack wrote back using their 4chan email address to say that the site had released a "video statement." However, when asked for further information, they pointed Reuters to an unrelated, explicit four-minute video montage.

A request for further clarification was met with a link to a different video with similar content. While it's unclear what exactly is happening, it's clear that 4chan has been compromised in some way. The site has served as an incubator for some of the internet's most viral memes and subcultures over the years, but its lightly moderated environment also makes it prone to chaos.

"Sparely designed, aggressively irreverent and lightly moderated," 4chan has become synonymous with a bygone era of online anonymity. The site's moderators are often anonymous themselves, making it difficult for authorities to track down those responsible for any illicit activity on the platform.

As the situation continues to unfold, one thing is clear: 4chan's reputation as a breeding ground for internet memes and subcultures has been compromised by this alleged hack. But the question remains – what exactly did the hacker reveal about the site's moderators, and how will 4chan respond to this latest development?