Infamous online platform 4chan reportedly suffered a security breach on Tuesday.

At the time of composition, the 4chan website was inaccessible, with social media users reporting the site had experienced intermittent outages for several hours.

Messages on a competing message board, reviewed by TechCrunch, lauded the intrusion, with one individual asserting that the perpetrator behind the breach had maintained access to 4chan's systems "for over a year."

Several screenshots that seem to show the inside workings of 4chan were shared online. These screenshots reportedly showed the site's back end, source code, and ways to ban users, which only the site's moderators could usually see. The leaked information also included a list of people who are said to be 4chan moderators and 'janitors.' Janitors are users who can delete posts and threads, but they have less power than moderators. Moderators, for example, can also see users' IP addresses.

Because 4chan is known for its connections to political violence, this cyberattack might show who runs these forums, which are now very important for alt-right groups.

TechCrunch contacted several of the compromised email addresses and communicated with an individual linked to one of them, with a 4chan administrator, who requested anonymity, expressing certainty in the authenticity of the leaked data and screenshots.

"I have no cause to assume otherwise," the custodian asserted.

"I am somewhat taken aback. While 4chan's moderation team has encountered leaks in the past, this situation clearly represents a more significant issue," the administrator stated to TechCrunch. "I am not pleased with the current circumstances, and I am certain most others share this sentiment. However, many of us have been involved in this for an extended period. Doxxing is a longstanding practice on 4chan, and the potential for our identities to be revealed has always been a reality."

The janitor said, "I've been most worried about the leaked information, for clear reasons. I think the fact that 4chan was basically taken over by a hacker or hackers is probably worse than just screenshots, at least for the site to keep working."

According to the janitor, it appears the hacker acquired the personal data of 4chan Pass subscribers, individuals who compensate the site to circumvent post limits and access an exclusive board.

4chan did not provide a statement in response to an email seeking comment sent to the platform's designated press email address.

4chan is an online forum where people can post anonymously, and it's often seen as a negative or hidden part of the internet. It often works like an image board with users who seem bored and try to shock each other, often by posting very offensive things. Sometimes, ideas from 4chan spread into the real world as simple memes or as hateful words that encourage right-wing violence.

Memes like Pepe the Frog, rage comics, and wojaks became popular on 4chan and are now everywhere online. But 4chan's biggest impact is from its political sections, where alt-right ideas can make young users believe in white supremacist views. QAnon, a group of far-right conspiracy theorists who support President Donald Trump, started on 4chan.

The person who shot and killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019 had used the website 4chan regularly since he was a teenager. In 2022, an 18-year-old man killed 10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. His 180-page written statement used many ideas from what the Christchurch shooter wrote online.