Hackers Claim ‘Catastrophic’ Internet Archive Attack
A group linked to a pro-Palestinian hacktivist movement has launched a catastrophic cyberattack revealing the details of 31 million people, compromising their email addresses and screen names.
An account on X under the name SN_BlackMeta claimed responsibility for the attack on The Internet Archive, a nonprofit organization, and implied that further attacks were planned. The Internet Archive is known for its digital library and the Wayback Machine. SN_BlackMeta has previously been linked to an attack against a Middle Eastern financial institution earlier this year, and a security firm has linked it to a pro-Palestinian hacktivist movement.
Encrypted passwords were also exposed and although these are relatively safe, users have been advised to change their passwords. And one expert has told Newsweek people should avoid browsing or using any files obtained from the site until it has declared an “all clear.”
This breach was accompanied by a series of Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks that temporarily took down the organization’s website, archive.org, on Wednesday and is continuing to affect the website currently. Wayback Machine is also inaccessible right now.
Brewster Kahle, founder and digital librarian of the Internet Archive, confirmed the breach and acknowledged the ongoing DDoS attacks.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kahle stated: “What we know: DDOS attack–fended off for now; defacement of our website via JS library; breach of usernames/email/salted-encrypted passwords. What we’ve done: Disabled the JS library, scrubbing systems, upgrading security. Will share more as we know it.”