Infamous Site 4chan Taken Down by Hacker from Rival Community

The infamous internet forum known as 4chan.org was dealt a devastating blow in recent days, as it fell victim to a major hacking attack that left the site inaccessible. As of this writing, the site remains down, leaving its millions of users in limbo.

For those who may be unfamiliar with 4chan, it's a notorious anonymous forum that has been embroiled in controversy since its launch in 2003. With a unique flavor of edgy internet counterculture, 4chan has become synonymous with the darker corners of the web. One notable example is its connection to QAnon, where an anonymous user known as "Q" fabricated claims of a deep state conspiracy.

But 4chan isn't the only forum of its kind. A rival community, soyjak.party, recently claimed responsibility for the hacking attack that brought 4chan to its knees. The claim was corroborated by leaked emails from 4chan administrators and moderators, which revealed the extent of the hack.

Not only did 4chan suffer a major security breach, but the site's source code and user data were also stolen and leaked, including sensitive information such as user email addresses. According to BleepingComputer, the attack was made possible by 4chan's extremely outdated version of PHP from 2016, which left the forum largely unprotected against various security vulnerabilities.

The implications of this breach are significant, with more than 20 million unique visitors logging in to the site every month. This means that tens of thousands of users have been affected by the incident, leaving them vulnerable to identity theft and other forms of cybercrime.

As for whether 4chan will recover from the attack, only time will tell. With its reputation on the line, it's unclear whether users will trust the site enough to return. The site's administrators have yet to issue a statement about the incident or their plans for recovery.

This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC för Alla and was translated and localized from Swedish. Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.