Internet Archive Breach Exposes Millions of Users

The Internet Archive, home to the Wayback Machine, faced a significant disruption due to a data breach and DDoS attacks, resulting in a temporary shutdown. This breach exposed the credentials of 31 million users, including email addresses and hashed passwords, as confirmed by Troy Hunt of Have I Been Pwned. A hacktivist group named SN_Blackmeta claimed responsibility for the attacks, citing a protest against the U.S. government's support for Israel. Founder Brewster Kahle announced that the site is now back online but in a limited, provisional read-only mode, as the team works to enhance security. Despite the attacks, none of the archived data was lost or corrupted. Legal and operational challenges continue to plague the Archive, including a recent legal defeat over copyright infringement claims.