One of the most stunning events in 4chan’s turbulent history will be April 2025. Known for its controversial history and anything-goes mentality, the notorious anonymous imageboard was taken offline following what looks to be a large hack, potentially the most significant cyberattack in its two-decade existence.
4chan just got 4chan’d 🙂
4chan Goes Dark
Downdetector and other outage tracking sites were inundated with complaints from thousands of users who started claiming that 4chan was unavailable early on Tuesday. For a website that prides itself on being a perpetual digital battleground, the silence was piercing.
Security researchers started to piece together what seemed to be a planned, coordinated hack as rumors circulated.Screenshots purportedly displaying access to admin panels, internal tools, and even 4chan’s source code started making the rounds on forums such as Kiwi Farms and Reddit.
Who’s Behind the Attack?
Here comes Soyjak.party, an independent imageboard that frequently disagrees with 4chan’s ideology. A user claiming to be involved (using the handle “Chud“) said in a post shared following the attack that “Operation Soyclipse” had been launched following more than a year of preparation. According to reports, the operation produced.
- Complete access to the admin and moderator panels on 4chan
- Credential and staff mailing list leaks
- A source code leak of 4chan’s PHP
- Reopening closed forums, such as /qa/
- Access of instruments that can change databases, manipulate boards, and track IP addresses
Also in the leaked data was a list of alleged 4chan moderators and “janitors,” who are users who can delete posts and threads, but have fewer privileges than moderators, who can also see IP addresses of users, for example.
A Breach Years in the Making?
According to several cybersecurity experts, the hack might have taken use of out-of-date software on 4chan’s servers. According to reports, the website was still utilizing PHP from 2016, which is a long time ago in terms of security and leaves it open to a variety of known attacks.
Investigations are still ongoing to determine whether all of the leaked material is real. However, if verified, it could seriously compromise the privacy of both users and 4chan employees. Cybernews researcher Neringa Macijauskaitė said that cross-platform attacks and doxxing might come next.
Christopher “moot” Poole founded 4chan in 2003 as a forum for anime discussion. It developed as a center for activism, leaks, memes, and frequently radical ideologies over time. The irony is that it has hosted leaks that have targeted big tech companies like Microsoft, Twitch, Disney, and Intel, and now it is on the receiving end of the breach.
It remains to be seen if this is a short-term setback or a turning point. However, one thing is for sure: 4chan just got 4chan’d.
