The well-known internet forum 4chan was affected by a cyber attack on Tuesday.

When I wrote this, the 4chan website was not working, and people on social media said it had been stopping and starting for many hours.

Messages on another website, which TechCrunch saw, were happy about the attack. One person said the hacker was inside 4chan's system for over a year.

Pictures that seem to show the inside workings of the website 4chan were shared on the internet.

Because 4chan is known for its violent political connections, this attack might show who is running these forums, which are now very important for alt-right groups.

TechCrunch contacted some people whose email addresses were leaked and spoke to one of them. This person confirmed that the information was real.

"I have no reason to think it's different," the janitor said.

"I'm quite surprised," the janitor told TechCrunch. "There have been leaks from 4chan's moderators before, but this one is clearly much bigger. I'm not happy about this situation, and I'm sure most other people aren't either. But many of us have been doing this for a long time. Sharing people's personal information is something that often happens on 4chan, and we have always known that we could be revealed."

"I'm most worried about the information that was shared without permission, for clear reasons," said the janitor. "I think that a hacker or hackers taking control of 4chan is probably more serious than the screenshots, at least for the website's future."

The janitor also said it seems the hacker got the personal information of people who pay for 4chan Pass. These members pay the site to avoid post limits and use a special board.

4chan did not reply to an email asking for a comment sent to their press email.

4chan is a website where people can share ideas anonymously, but it is known for some very bad content. Often, users try to shock others by posting offensive pictures and comments. Sometimes, the things shared on 4chan become popular online ideas or even spread hate that leads to violence.

Memes like Pepe the Frog and rage comics started on 4chan and are now very common online. But 4chan is most famous for its political forums. Here, extreme right-wing ideas can make young people believe in white supremacy. QAnon, a group with strange ideas who support Donald Trump, also started on 4chan.

The man who killed 51 people in two mosques in New Zealand in 2019 used the website 4chan a lot since he was young. In 2022, an 18-year-old man killed 10 Black people in a supermarket in the US. His long written statement used ideas from the New Zealand shooter's online writings.