The Internet Archive, a digital library, was the target of a ‘catastrophic’ cyber attack on Thursday, leaving the site defaced and offline. Brewster Kahle, the founder of the San Francisco-based nonprofit, confirmed that a series of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks began on Tuesday, disrupting the site’s services and compromising the data of millions of users.
Users reported encountering a pop-up message claiming that the site had been hacked, with data from 31 million accounts compromised.The message, apparently issued by the attackers, urged users to check the site “Have I Been Pwned” (HIBP) to see if their information had been leaked.
“Have you ever felt like the Internet Archive runs on sticks and is constantly on the verge of suffering a catastrophic security breach?” the message reportedly said.
What went wrong?
Kahle reported that the attacks led to the breach of usernames, email addresses, and passwords. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, he stated that the organisation was enhancing its security measures. Following the initial attacks, the hackers returned early Thursday, further impacting the main site and its “Open Library,” which is a digital catalogue of books. Kahle assured users that while the website had been defaced, the data itself had not been corrupted and that efforts were underway to restore services safely.
HIBP later confirmed that it had received records from the Internet Archive, including email addresses and passwords. The hacker group “SN_BLACKMETA” took responsibility for the attack, claiming that the archive was targeted due to its perceived ties to the US government and its support for Israel.
Experts have labelled SN_BLACKMETA a “rising cyber threat,” identifying it as a pro-Palestinian hacktivist group, possibly operating from Russia and with potential connections to Sudan.
What is the Internet Archive?
Founded in 1996, the Internet Archive is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to preserving the web and promoting an open internet. It operates the Wayback Machine, which captures snapshots of millions of web pages over time. This tool is essential for fact-checkers and researchers, allowing them to access deleted content and track changes in online information. The Internet Archive serves as a vital resource for maintaining the historical record of digital information.