The Internet Archive has recently faced significant challenges due to a cyberattack. On October 10, the hacktivist group BlackMeta claimed responsibility for Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks targeting the Internet Archive. This was followed by the revelation that a data breach had compromised over 31 million user accounts. The organization confirmed that hackers had accessed sensitive information, such as email addresses, usernames, and Bcrypt-hashed passwords. This data was subsequently shared in a 6.4 GB database with Troy Hunt, the creator of the “Have I Been Pwned” service, allowing users to check if their data was compromised.
The Internet Archive operates the Wayback Machine, a popular free web archive. Since launching in the mid-1990s, it has saved over 800 billion web pages with about 100 petabytes of data. The nonprofit also stores digital copies of other media, including books and software code
The breach involved exposing sensitive user data, including emails and password hashes. However, the Internet Archive used a robust hashing algorithm, Bcrypt, which makes it difficult for attackers to decipher passwords easily. While the initial breach was alarming, the organization confirmed that its archive content had not been corrupted during these attacks
In response to the attacks, Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle stated that the organization is taking measures to enhance its cybersecurity, including disabling vulnerable software libraries and “scrubbing” its systems to ensure data safety. The DDoS attack that followed the hacker’s message affected the availability of not only the Wayback Machine but also the nonprofit’s Open Library book archive. In an update published this morning, Kahle stated that the Internet Archive is “being cautious and prioritizing keeping data safe at the expense of service availability.” However, the DDoS attacks have led to service interruptions, affecting not only the popular Wayback Machine but also other services such as Open Library
As cyber threats continue to rise, the Internet Archive’s experience underscores the need for robust cybersecurity measures, especially for platforms that host extensive digital archives.
