Ethical Hacking News
The Internet Archive's recent breach highlights the need for greater attention to digital safety and security, particularly among non-profit organizations. As the world continues to rely increasingly on digital services, cybersecurity experts warn that robust measures are necessary to protect sensitive user data.
The Internet Archive suffered a catastrophic security breach, exposing 31 million user accounts. The organization's website was unavailable for up to five hours due to the breach. The breach is currently under investigation, and it's unclear if the DDoS attack and data leak are connected. This incident marks an unhappy 2024 for the Internet Archive, following previous security incidents and criticism over handling user data.
The Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library and internet archive, had a catastrophic security breach on Wednesday afternoon US time. The organization's website was unavailable for up to five hours, during which time visitors were met with a notification of the incident. Meanwhile, data leak notification service haveibeenpwned (HiBP) posted news of a leak that saw 31,081,179 users' accounts exposed. Register staff received emails from HiBP stating that "The breach exposed user records including email addresses, screen names and bcrypt password hashes."
Alethea Kahle, the Internet Archive's Brewster Kahle, later confirmed the leak in an update on their website. She wrote that the organization had detected "defacement of our website via a JS library; breach of usernames/email/salted-encrypted passwords." The Internet Archive has since disabled the affected JS library and is taking steps to scrub systems and upgrade security.
It is unclear whether the DDoS attack and the data leak are connected. The Internet Archive has experienced several high-profile security incidents in recent months, including a court case that found its digital lending activities illegal and power failures that left their website offline.
The incident marks an unhappy 2024 for the Internet Archive, which has also faced criticism for its handling of sensitive user data. In July, the organization was fined $333,000 by the UK's Sellafield nuclear waste processing plant for security breaches that compromised radioactive waste storage and disposal systems.
The breach has raised concerns about the security of online services and the need for organizations to prioritize digital safety. It also highlights the importance of robust cybersecurity measures in protecting sensitive user data.
The Internet Archive's website is a vast repository of digital content, including books, movies, music, and other media. The organization relies on donations from users to support its operations. However, its reliance on donations has raised concerns about the potential for security breaches, particularly if user data is compromised.
In response to the incident, the Internet Archive has promised to share more information as it becomes available. They have also taken steps to upgrade their security measures and scrub systems to prevent future incidents.
As the world continues to rely increasingly on digital services, organizations must prioritize cybersecurity to protect sensitive user data. The Internet Archive's recent breach serves as a reminder of the importance of robust security measures in preventing data breaches and protecting online users' personal information.
The incident has also raised questions about the role of non-profit organizations like the Internet Archive in providing access to digital content. While the organization's mission to make knowledge available to everyone is commendable, its recent breach highlights the need for greater attention to digital safety and security.
In conclusion, the recent DDoS attack on the Internet Archive and the resulting data leak have highlighted the importance of robust cybersecurity measures in protecting sensitive user data. The incident serves as a reminder that even non-profit organizations rely on online services and must prioritize digital safety to prevent breaches and protect users' personal information.
Related Information:
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/10/10/internet_archive_ddos_data_leak/
https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/10/internet_archive_ddos_data_leak/
https://forums.theregister.com/forum/all/2024/10/10/internet_archive_ddos_data_leak/
Published: Wed Oct 9 21:32:28 2024 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
