The Internet Archive, a treasured online library and host to the Wayback Machine, recently faced a major security breach and a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. On Wednesday afternoon, visitors to the site encountered a pop-up notification proclaiming the breach. The attackers claimed to have accessed and compromised the data of 31 million users, including email addresses, usernames, and encrypted passwords. This unsettling development has raised concerns across the web, with both the hacking group SN_BlackMeta and other malicious entities continuing to target the Archive in an apparent series of DDoS attacks.
In a sequence of updates, Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle confirmed that the site had been compromised through a JavaScript library, leading to defacement and exposing user data. The organization quickly disabled the affected library, began scrubbing their systems, and bolstered their security protocols. Renowned security researcher Troy Hunt, who operates the data-breach notification site Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), also validated the breach. The leaked data was loaded onto HIBP to allow users to verify whether their information was compromised.
According to posts from SN_BlackMeta, the hacking group claimed responsibility for the DDoS attacks, which continue to impact the Archive’s availability. These types of attacks flood websites with traffic, forcing them offline. Although the motivation behind the attacks remains vague, they underscore the increasing prevalence of such assaults on high-profile organizations.
The Internet Archive’s breach serves as a timely reminder for businesses and nonprofit organizations alike to prioritize cybersecurity. This incident reflects the need for robust defenses against both data breaches and DDoS attacks.
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