A portion of the computer code that keeps the Twitter social media site running have been leaked online, according to a report by The New York Times.
The leak was revealed when Twitter filed a petition to remove the information about the code from the GitHub software development site.
Twitter sent GitHub a copyright infringement notice, demanding the code – which includes security vulnerabilities that could allow hackers to steal data or take down the site – be removed.
The company, run by Elon Musk, also asked in its court filing to force GitHub to reveal who shared the code and identify those who downloaded it from the site.
An internal investigation has already determined that the suspect who published the code was a former employee who left Twitter last year.
GitHub has agreed to remove the information, immediately. But it appears the information was available on the site for several months prior to the legal filing by Twitter.