Nonprofit behind the Wayback Machine has suffered a cyberattack by "pro-Palestinian hacktivists" affecting 31 million users.

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.”

  • saltesc@lemmy.worldEnglish
    60·
    5 months ago

    I wouldn’t be claiming a hack on Internet Archive. It’s like boasting about setting fire to a library, almost literally.

  • Milk_Sheikh@lemm.eeEnglish
    382·
    5 months ago

    Yeahhhh this one seems fishy. Unlike the “Handala Hacks” group (seemingly 100% an Iranian state affair) who basically doxxed Israeli citizens and security industry heads, where’s the play in this?

    • No ransomware attempt, just DDoS and data grab
    • Email and handles compromised, not major info like bank details or SSNs
    • VERY publicly pro-Palestine/Palestinian, makes zero mention of occupation, apartheid, civilian suffering, etc
    • Tortured ‘link’ between a non-profit .org and the US:Israel alliance as justification

    Psyops gonna psyop

  • 58008@lemmy.worldEnglish
    27·
    5 months ago

    This act is so profoundly counter to increasing pro-Palestinian sentiment that I have to wonder if it was the fuckin’ Mossad that did it.

  • small44@lemmy.worldEnglish
    17·
    5 months ago

    As a pro Palestinian I condemn this action but I won’t discredit the whole Palestinian support mouvement

  • Lumisal@lemmy.worldEnglish
    131·
    5 months ago

    Yeah, it’s totally not Israel, the country known for being great at hacking and is attacking multiple middle eastern countries at the moment.

  • stoly@lemmy.worldEnglish
    92·
    5 months ago

    False flag, no way that Palestinian supporters would do this. There’s simply no reason to. Someone else did for shits and giggles.

    • gencha@lemm.eeEnglish
      4·
      5 months ago

      Tech-savy teenagers can pull of a “cyber attack” on a nonprofit. It doesn’t have to be a smart choice. Sometimes people just want to relieve their anger, break some shit, and claim it for whatever floats their boat right now.

      The evidence is absolute bullshit though. So I don’t believe it either.

  • gencha@lemm.eeEnglish
    5·
    5 months ago

    Thanks to a bit of anonymous text on the disinformation machine of a fascist US billionaire, we finally know what’s up. Thank God for this achievement in journalism.

  • kescusay@lemmy.worldEnglish
    99·
    5 months ago

    Why the hell is anyone still storing actual passwords, even encrypted ones, in 2024? They should only be storing hashes and a salt that’s only retrievable on the backend.

    Edit: I stand corrected. Newsweek is just doing its usual shit job of reporting. They should know better than calling hashed passwords “encrypted” passwords.

    • barsoap@lemm.eeEnglish
      34·
      5 months ago

      They aren’t, newsweek is calling it encryption because they’re writing for normies. The leaked data includes bcrypt’ed passwords, so hash and per-password salt. Their choice of hashing function is not what you want to criticise the IA for.