Graphic by Pixabay / Illustration by CNET
Gab, an alternative social network popular with right-wing users, has been hacked and a large body of data – including passwords and private messages – has been stolen. The company says it received a ransom request for nearly $ 500,000 in bitcoin for the data.
The hacked data, dubbed GabLeaks, were shared by the transparency group DDoSecrets. It includes 70 GB of public posts, private posts, user profiles, hashed passwords, direct messages and plain text passwords for groups, according to DDoSecrets. The group said it is offering the data set only to journalists and researchers due to privacy concerns.
CEO Andrew Torba acknowledged the hack, which was reported on Sunday by Wired, in a message posted on Gab’s Twitter account that said the social network was under attack. “The entire company is investigating what happened and working to track and correct the problem,” wrote Torba in the message, which includes a transphobic injury. Torba said the company is working with law enforcement on the matter.
Torba revealed the ransom request on Monday in a message posted on the company’s website.
“The individuals who hold us responsible for the rescue are extortionists,” wrote Torba in the post. “We don’t pay ransom. We don’t negotiate with extortionists. Period.”
He also criticized DDoSecrets for its alleged intention to release the data to journalists for ethical reasons.
“These people are not ‘ethical hackers’, continues Torba.” There is nothing ‘ethical’ about targeting millions of Internet users for party political agendas. ”
A hacker was able to divert data from Gab’s website through a “SQL injection vulnerability,” DDoSecrets told Wired.
CNET has not independently verified the content of Gab’s data. The social network could not be reached immediately for comment.
Gab went offline briefly last month, when the social network was used in a bitcoin scheme. Gab is not alone in being hit by bitcoin wallet spam. Last July, a massive bitcoin scam hit Twitter when hackers took over high-profile accounts, including those of Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Kanye West and Barack Obama.
Gab, who has already been criticized for anti-Semitic content, calls himself a platform for freedom of expression, a self-character also used by Parler, a right-wing Twitter clone. Parler went offline for about a month after losing services from Amazon Web Services because the social network was used to organize the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill. Before Parler was taken offline, hackers were able to extract data from the site to create a posts archive, including deleted posts and location data for images and videos.
Steven Musil of CNET contributed to this report.
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