Hackers breach Andrew Tate's online 'university,' exposing 800,000 users
Hackers have managed to breach an online platform 'The Real World,' created by far-right influencer and accused human trafficker, Andrew Tate, according to Daily Dot. The cyberattack led to the leak of data of more than 800,000 users, including the email addresses of around 325,000 people. The compromised platform is self-proclaimed as an "online university" offering courses on fitness, finance, and content creation for a monthly subscription of $50.
Platform's security weaknesses exploited
A source familiar with the incident described Tate's website as "hilariously insecure," indicating that the hackers didn't have to do much to breach its defenses. The cyberattack was carried out during a livestream hosted by Tate, where the hackers gained access to the main chatroom. This isn't the first time Tate's platform has been targeted; earlier this year in July, data of over a million users and 22 million messages were exposed in a similar breach.
Hackers motivated by 'hacktivism' against Tate
The anonymous hackers cited "hacktivism" as their reason for the breach. They opposed Tate's controversial discourse and allegations of him sex trafficking underage girls. In defiance, they flooded an internal chatroom for Tate's followers with symbols like a transgender flag and a feminist fist, and an AI-generated image of Tate draped in a rainbow flag.
Gaining control over admin rights
Along with flooding the chatroom with symbols, the hackers also managed to take over administrative controls. They used this access to temporarily ban some users from the platform. The hackers were also able to download both public and private chats conducted on the site, compromising user privacy even further and revealing discussions about topics such as the "LGBTQ agenda" and "the matrix."
Tate faces legal investigations amid hacking incident
The hacking incident comes as Tate remains embroiled in several legal investigations in Romania and the UK. He is accused of sex trafficking and raping minors, as well as forming an organized crime group with the intent of sexually exploiting women. Despite the serious allegations, Tate continues to deny all charges leveled against him.
