The largest IRC network on the Internet has been hacked and its users passwords possibly compromised according to an alert sent out by its network administrators just moments ago. Freenode is an extremely popular communication tool used by cryptocurrency developers and enthusiasts alike.
Earlier today the freenode infra team noticed an anomaly on a single IRC server. We have identified that this was indicative of the server being compromised by an unknown third party.
Upon further investigation it was determined that several other machines had also been compromised. For now, they recommend that every user change their NickServ password as a precaution. To do that, they recommend you issue the command /msg NickServ set password YOURNEWPASSWORD (maximum length 79 characters), making sure / is the first character.
Freenode, formerly known as Open Projects Network, is an IRC network used to discuss peer-directed projects. Their servers are all accessible from the domain name chat.freenode.net and irc.freenode.net, which load balances connections by using the actual servers in rotation. In 2010, it became the largest free and open source software-focused IRC network.
We will be updating this story with additional information as it becomes available.