The Wayback Machine returns in limited capacity after recent attacks

Oct 15

Lauren Taylor Reporter

By Lauren Taylor (Reporter), Alex Delia (Producer), Jake Maslo (Video Editor)

The Internet Archive is back online in a limited capacity after a massive cyber attack disrupted its services earlier this month. The site, known for its Wayback Machine, remains vulnerable, and full functionality has not yet been restored.

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The Wayback Machine, which preserves billions of web pages, is now operating in read-only mode. Users can still access archived content, but cannot upload new material or update existing pages. The read-only mode affects all parts of the archive, including the ability to save new web pages.

Hackers breached the Internet Archive, exposing data from over 31 million users in a politically motivated attack. — Internet Archive

This month’s distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack overwhelmed the archive’s systems, taking down its normal operations.

Cybersecurity experts warn that such attacks are becoming increasingly common and difficult to defend against, particularly for platforms like the Internet Archive that rely on donations and grants for funding.

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The downtime is more than an inconvenience for many, as it disrupts the preservation of vital online content.

The Internet Archive’s founder, Brewster Kahle, continues to give updates on the state of the website as well. Kahle said that while read-only mode has been restored, more maintenance will be needed, and that the website may be taken down again in the near future for the fixes.

The @internetarchive’s Wayback Machine resumed in a provisional, read-only manner.

Sorry, no Save Page Now yet.

Safe to resume but might need further maintenance, in which case it will be suspended again.

Please be gentle https://t.co/sb5tlvxQ26

More as it happens.
— Brewster Kahle (@brewster_kahle) October 14, 2024

While limited access has been restored, the Internet Archive has not yet provided a timeline for a full recovery, though it assures users that the team is working to prevent future disruptions.

Tags: Cyber attack, cyber crimes, Cybersecurity, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, East Palestine, Hackers, Internet, Israel, Palestine

[Lauren Taylor]

AFTER A MASSIVE CYBER ATTACK RECENTLY TOOK THE INTERNET ARCHIVE OFFLINE… THE SITE IS BACK…BUT IN A LIMITED CAPACITY.

BEST KNOWN FOR ITS WAYBACK MACHINE, WHICH PRESERVES BILLIONS OF WEB PAGES, THE INTERNET ARCHIVE IS NOW OPERATING IN READ-ONLY MODE. USERS CAN STILL ACCESS ITS ARCHIVES, BUT WON’T BE ABLE TO UPLOAD NEW CONTENT OR UPDATE THE SITE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. THE READ-ONLY MODE AFFECTS ALL PARTS OF THE ARCHIVE, INCLUDING THE ABILITY TO ARCHIVE NEW WEB PAGES.

FOR MANY, THIS DOWNTIME IS MORE THAN JUST AN INCONVENIENCE… IT DISRUPTS THE PRESERVATION OF CRUCIAL CONTENT THAT MIGHT OTHERWISE BE LOST IN AN EVER-EVOLVING WEB LANDSCAPE.

THIS MONTH’S DISTRIBUTED DENIAL OF SERVICE… OR D-DOS ATTACK, OVERWHELMED THE SITE WITH AN AVALANCHE OF TRAFFIC, TAKING DOWN ITS ABILITY TO FUNCTION NORMALLY. WHILE THE INTERNET ARCHIVE HAS MANAGED TO RESTORE LIMITED ACCESS… ITS SYSTEMS REMAIN VULNERABLE.

CYBERSECURITY EXPERTS SAY ATTACKS LIKE THIS HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY COMMON AND DIFFICULT TO DEFEND AGAINST, ESPECIALLY FOR PLATFORMS LIKE THE INTERNET ARCHIVE, WHICH RELIES ON DONATIONS AND GRANTS.

THE INTERNET ARCHIVE HAS YET TO RELEASE A TIMELINE FOR WHEN FULL FUNCTIONALITY WILL BE RESTORED, BUT HAVE REASSURED USERS THEY’RE WORKING HARD TO PREVENT FUTURE DISRUPTIONS.

FOR MORE UNBIASED UPDATES AND STRAIGHT FACTS… DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP OR VISIT SAN DOT COM.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M LAUREN TAYLOR.