Gab, the "free speech" social network, was the alleged victim of a major hack. Over 70GB of data was reportedly stolen, and that may even include the private information of its users.

Hacktivist Siphons 70GB of Data From Gab

According to a report by Wired, Gab, the social network that dedicates itself to uncensored speech, allegedly got hacked. The whistleblower group, Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets), told Wired that 70GB of data was stolen from Gab. This is outlined further in a detailed page on DDoSecrets, titled GabLeaks.

The organization stated that the hacktivist, JaXpArO and My Little Anonymous Revival Project, is responsible for the supposed leak. The hacktivist allegedly stole information from Gab's database, with the goal of exposing politically far-right users on the site.

Emma Best, the founder of DDoSecrets, stated that the leaked data "contains pretty much everything on Gab, including user data and private posts, everything someone needs to run a nearly complete analysis on Gab users and content."

Best claims that this includes private messages, as well as passwords. She also said that the hacktivist won't reveal this information publicly, and has only chosen to share it with journalists and researchers.

Despite this alleged evidence, Andrew Torba, CEO of Gab, vehemently denies the hack. In a post on the Gab news page, Torba said: "We do not currently have independent confirmation that such a breach has actually taken place and are investigating."

He then attempted to reassure users that hackers wouldn't have been able to get ahold of passwords, as the site practices password hashing to secure them. Torba also noted that most of the reportedly stolen information is already public, and that includes public user profiles and public posts.

In a very short period of time, Gab became the go-to refuge for political conservatives, and saw a great influx of users following Twitter's ban on former President Donald Trump. Gab also became a foster home for Parler users who had to deal with the site's month-long shutdown. The platform has since become a target for criticism, as its lack of moderation lets hate speech flow freely.

Gab's Free Speech Policy Makes It a Target

Parler has already faced the consequences of running a "free speech" network. Not only was Parler kicked off of Amazon Web Services, but it was also pulled down from the Google Play and Apple App Store.

And although Gab isn't seeing backlash from Big Tech, the network is clearly being targeted regardless. Whether a hack really happened or not, the lack of concern from CEO Andrew Torba is still a bit unnerving.