Hacktivist Shuts Down White Supremacist Websites Live at Hacker Conference
In a bold demonstration of cyber activism, a hacktivist known by the pseudonym Martha Root took decisive action against white supremacist platforms during the recent Chaos Communication Congress (39C3) in Hamburg, Germany. Dressed as the Pink Ranger from the Power Rangers, Root remotely dismantled the servers of three notorious websites: WhiteDate, WhiteChild, and WhiteDeal, all in real-time before an audience of cybersecurity enthusiasts.
The Targeted Platforms
– WhiteDate: Dubbed the Tinder for Nazis, this dating platform catered exclusively to individuals with white supremacist ideologies, facilitating connections based on shared racist beliefs.
– WhiteChild: This controversial site claimed to match white supremacist sperm and egg donors, aiming to propagate their ideology through selective reproduction.
– WhiteDeal: Functioning similarly to TaskRabbit, this labor marketplace was designed exclusively for individuals adhering to racist ideologies, promoting economic interactions within a white supremacist framework.
As of now, all three websites remain offline, signaling a significant disruption to their operations.
The Hacktivist’s Approach
Martha Root’s infiltration of these platforms was both innovative and audacious. Utilizing AI chatbots, Root managed to bypass the websites’ verification processes, gaining access by being falsely verified as white. This strategic maneuver allowed for an in-depth exploration of the sites’ vulnerabilities and user data.
During the conference, Root revealed the extent of the security lapses found within these platforms. User images were discovered to contain precise geolocation metadata, effectively exposing users’ home addresses. Root humorously remarked on the irony of self-proclaimed master race individuals failing to secure their own digital platforms, suggesting they should try mastering to host WordPress before world domination.
Data Exposure and Public Reaction
Following the takedown, Root published the data scraped from WhiteDate, highlighting the platform’s poor cybersecurity practices. The leaked information included user profiles with names, photos, descriptions, ages, locations (with exact coordinates), genders, languages, races, and other personal details. Notably, emails, passwords, and private conversations were not included in the leak at this time.
The data revealed that WhiteDate had over 6,500 users, with a gender distribution of 86% men and 14% women. Root humorously compared this ratio to the Smurf village, calling it a gender ratio that makes the Smurf village look like a feminist utopia.
Responses from the Affected Platforms
The administrator of the three dismantled websites confirmed the hack through social media, expressing outrage and labeling the act as cyberterrorism. They vowed repercussions and claimed that Root had deleted their social media account before it was restored.
Collaborative Efforts and Broader Implications
Root’s presentation was conducted alongside journalists Eva Hoffmann and Christian Fuchs, who had previously investigated these platforms for the German weekly paper Die Zeit. Their collaborative efforts shed light on the operations and security flaws of these white supremacist sites.
The nonprofit collective DDoSecrets, known for storing leaked datasets in the public interest, announced that it had received files and user information from the three websites. Dubbed WhiteLeaks, this 100-gigabyte dataset has not been publicly released but is available to verified journalists and researchers upon request.
Conclusion
Martha Root’s live takedown of these white supremacist websites serves as a powerful example of hacktivism’s potential to combat hate speech and extremist ideologies in the digital realm. By exposing the vulnerabilities and operations of such platforms, Root has ignited a broader conversation about cybersecurity, online hate groups, and the ethical implications of digital activism.
