4chan Returns: Revived After Financial Struggles and Cash Shortage
4chan, the notorious image-sharing platform, has partially resumed operations following a significant hacking incident that rendered the site offline for nearly two weeks. This event has sparked a renewed interest in the site’s tumultuous history and its role in internet culture.
4chan’s Return After a Major Hack
The disruption began on April 14, when a hacker compromised 4chan’s security. The individual reportedly leaked sensitive information, including a list of moderators and “janitors.” According to a janitor who spoke with TechCrunch, the authenticity of the leaked data was confirmed.
Impact of the Outage
The extended downtime of 4chan led to various reactions, including a premature obituary penned by journalist Ryan Broderick for Wired. In his article, he remarked that the platform, once celebrated as a hub for internet culture, had devolved into a space associated with extremist ideologies.
In response, the 4chan team took to social media to assert their resilience, stating, “Wired says ‘4chan is dead.’ Is that so?”
Details of the Hacking Incident
On Friday, 4chan announced its partial restoration. The official blog disclosed that the breach was executed by a hacker utilizing a UK IP address. They managed to infiltrate one of the site’s servers via a “bogus PDF upload,” leading to the exfiltration of database tables and much of the platform’s source code. The situation escalated to vandalism when moderators intervened, prompting an immediate halt to server operations.
Extent of the Damage
The blog post described the repercussions of the hack as “catastrophic.” Key points included:
- Insufficient skilled personnel to maintain code and infrastructure updates.
- Long-standing financial challenges due to pressure from advertisers and service providers.
- Rarity of advertisers willing to support 4chan amidst activist backlash.
As a response to the breach, the compromised server was replaced. However, the site has implemented new restrictions, including a temporary ban on PDF uploads and the removal of a board dedicated to Flash animation sharing due to concerns over similar vulnerabilities.
Current Status of 4chan
As of Sunday afternoon, the site status checker indicated that while the boards and front page were back online, functionalities such as posting, image uploads, and thumbnails were still unavailable. In a message to the community, 4chan declared, “4chan is back. No other website can replace it, or this community. No matter how hard it is, we are not giving up.”
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