Internet Archive under persistent cyberattack for days, data unaffected
What's the story
The Internet Archive, a non-profit organization, has been battling a persistent Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) cyberattack for several days. The organization announced in a blog post that it is currently in its "third day of warding off an intermittent DDoS cyber-attack." Over the Memorial Day weekend in the US, the organization's services were largely unavailable due to bad actors, flooding its website with "tens of thousands of fake information requests per second."
Data safety
Website's data remains unaffected despite attacks
Despite the ongoing cyberattacks, the data on the Internet Archive's website remains unaffected. Users can still access content from previous pages whenever possible. Brewster Kahle, the founder of the Internet Archive, reassured users by stating, "Thankfully the collections are safe." He expressed regret that the DDoS attack has intermittently knocked their services offline over the past three days.
Strengthening security
Internet Archive enhances defenses amid ongoing attacks
Kahle further added that the organization is bolstering its defenses to offer more reliable access to its library. He described the attack as sustained, adaptive, impactful, targeted, and notably mean. The source of these attacks remains unidentified. However, the Internet Archive has observed an increasing trend of similar institutions being targeted by such attacks.
Rising trend
Similar institutions also targeted by cyber-attacks
The Internet Archive highlighted an instance where the British Library's online information system, was held hostage for ransom by a hacker group in 2023. This indicates a rising trend of similar institutions being targeted by cyberattacks. The organization also pointed out ongoing lawsuits from the US book publishing and US recording industries, accusing it of copyright infringement, adding another layer to its current challenges.