DarkOwl Finds More Than Two Dozen Active Darknet Imageboards
Summary
DarkOwl says it identified more than two dozen active darknet imageboards beyond 4chan and 8kun, spanning several languages. The article explains their communities, anonymity model, and relevance to investigations.
Key points
- DarkOwl analysts say they identified more than two dozen active alternative darknet imageboards, unrelated to 4chan or 8kun, in Russian, Korean, Japanese, German, and English.
- Imageboards commonly allow pseudonymous posting, but administrators may know users’ originating IP addresses; tripcodes let users sign posts without registering credentials.
- Some imageboards use Tor mirrors for added anonymity and to help mitigate DDoS attacks; others are exclusive to the darknet or have mirrors on alternative networks.
- The article describes /pol/ boards as spaces where hate speech and extremist content appear, and notes that 8chan users posted manifestos linked to several mass shootings.
- DarkOwl says analysts observed an /g/ post sharing instructions from a security researcher’s blog on hacking Apple AirTags; moderators removed the thread within minutes.
- DarkOwl says it created a Groups filter in its Vision product to help users search the identified communities without knowing their onion service addresses.
Article Details
- Topic
- The history and growth of imageboard communities, particularly alternative chans hosted on the darknet.
People
Christopher PooleFounder of 4chan, where he served as administrator for 11 years.David KernellA 4chan user convicted of hacking Sarah Palin's email account and leaking screenshots from it on the imageboard.Fredrick BrennenFounded infinitechan, also known as 8chan, and administered the board.Hiroyuki NishimuraFounder of 2channel; later established 2ch.sc and bought 4chan.Jim WatkinsFounded N.T. Technology, which hosted imageboards including 2channel and 8chan, and partnered with Fredrick Brennen to host and scale 8chan.Ron WatkinsAdministrator of 8chan/8kun from 2016 through the end of 2020.
Threat Actors
Products
16chanNevertheless, there are hundreds of “alt-chans”, many of which have a growing presence of users on the darknet, including not only a mirror of 2channel, but 16chan, nanochan, 64chan, Korchan, Kohlchan, and others.2ch.scNishimura trademarked 2channel and claims the domain was hijacked and since setup 2ch.sc, which scrapes 2ch.net and mirrors its content.2channelThe very first imageboard was 2channel, (2ちゃんねる, 2chan, or 2ch) first launched over two decades ago by Hiroyuki Nishimura, a Japanese Internet entrepreneur and student based in the United States at the time.4chanIn fact, DarkOwl has identified over two dozen alternative chans on the darknet – not related to 4chan or 8chan – across numerous languages (Russian, Korean, Japanese, German, and English) that are currently online and64chanNevertheless, there are hundreds of “alt-chans”, many of which have a growing presence of users on the darknet, including not only a mirror of 2channel, but 16chan, nanochan, 64chan, Korchan, Kohlchan, and others.8chanCapitol in January shined a spotlight on one wildly popular imageboard known as 8chan, bringing about significant coverage in mainstream media.8kun4chan and 8chan (or 8kun) implemented secure tripcodes that are not reproducible across different imageboards and are more resistant to the hashed password getting hacked or cracked.endchan— /b/ board moderator on endchan, collected from Tor onion serviceGurochanGurochan, an imageboard that originated over a decade ago, recently returned online and predominantly includes threads with gore and necrophilia.KohlchanNevertheless, there are hundreds of “alt-chans”, many of which have a growing presence of users on the darknet, including not only a mirror of 2channel, but 16chan, nanochan, 64chan, Korchan, Kohlchan, and others.KorchanNevertheless, there are hundreds of “alt-chans”, many of which have a growing presence of users on the darknet, including not only a mirror of 2channel, but 16chan, nanochan, 64chan, Korchan, Kohlchan, and others.nanochanNevertheless, there are hundreds of “alt-chans”, many of which have a growing presence of users on the darknet, including not only a mirror of 2channel, but 16chan, nanochan, 64chan, Korchan, Kohlchan, and others.WizardchanBy this time, alternative imageboards known as “alt-chans” had emerged including Wizardchan whose userbase consisted of virgin men or “incels” (slang derived from “involuntary celibate”) who define themselves as unable
Countries
JapanBy hosting the board outside of Japan, Nishimura managed to circumvent Japanese internet censorship and grew the predominantly Japanese online community millions of daily users with a level of influence in society manyPhilippinesIn late 2014, he partnered with Jim Watkins in the Philippines to host and help scale the platform, using Watkins data center company N.T.United StatesThe very first imageboard was 2channel, (2ちゃんねる, 2chan, or 2ch) first launched over two decades ago by Hiroyuki Nishimura, a Japanese Internet entrepreneur and student based in the United States at the time.