Bitcointalk Forum Down Again Amid Data Retention Problems

Published at: Jan. 22, 2015

The popular cryptocurrency forum Bitcointalk.org is currently inaccessible for the second time in two months.

No pages of the forum are currently obtainable, and tweets from the forum’s official Twitter account suggest an ongoing problem relating to handling of user-generated information.

“Some disks seem to have failed. Expect extended downtime. I will post updates here,” a post from earlier today reads. This was followed by an admission that user posts made in the preceding nine hours “may be lost,” and that Bitcointalk was “still trying to recover them.”

Some disks seem to have failed. Expect extended downtime. I will post updates here.

— BitcoinTalk (@bitcointalk) January 22, 2015

Posts made in the last 9 hours might be lost, though we are still trying to recover them. If you still have posts from that time, save them.

— BitcoinTalk (@bitcointalk) January 22, 2015

Bitcointalk’s previous outage in November occurred due to a suspected DDoS attack, during which time the only update made available was the following statement:

This is another DoS attack.

— BitcoinTalk (@bitcointalk) November 14, 2014

While it remains unclear as to what caused the latest full service outage, the increased communication is likely to reassure users that a potential threat is being contained.

Error messages returned by browsers relate to database elements missing, prompting both suspicions of data deletion as well as criticisms regarding Bitcointalk’s apparent lack of backup resources. Reddit is awash with further theories, including those of hacking, DDoS attacks and even personal vendettas. Reports by CryptoCoinsNews and Coinbuzz also could not provide more concrete information.

Despite its recent troubles, the forum continues to expand its popularity, with posting activity having steadily increased throughout 2014 according to Bitcoinpulse.com.

The outage comes against a backdrop of conspicuous security breaches of major Bitcoin operators, most notably the Bitstamp exchange, which staged a recovery with updated multisignature technology following the theft of around 19,000 bitcoins earlier this month.

This is a developing story and Cointelegraph will update readers as information becomes available.

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