A hacker or hackers claiming to be with the Anonymous collective gained access into a dark web hosting service, shutting down more than 10,000 websites in protest against child pornography.

Creeps trying to access those sites on hidden web hosting service Freedom Hosting II were greeted with a message saying the hacker harvested all of the sites' files and its database, totaling almost 80 gigabytes of material.  Freedom Hosting II claims to have a "zero tolerance policy to child pornography", but the hackers claimed more than half of what they found was offensive, illegal material. 

"We are disappointed," the hacker or hackers wrote in a message posted on the hacked website.  "We found while searching that your server is more than 50 percent child porn," they added, "Moreover you host many scam sites, some of which are evidently run by yourself to cover hosting expenses."

The hackers also exposed numerous references to botnets, which are automated computer networks that online bad guys use to launch distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, spew out spam or steal data. 

It's practically impossible to confirm the hacker's claims.  Anonymous is a highly decentralized network of hackers and websites that coalesce in small or large groups around various issues - no one is taking notes or posing for photos.  Likewise, the dark web is made up of websites that can't be found on search engines, and often require a special browser to access.  It is said to be rife with child porn, illegal gun and weapon sales, drug dealing, and money laundering.  But cybersecurity researcher Chris Montiero says the hacking operation "appears to be genuine".