Pro-Palestinian hacktivist group claims responsibility for major cyber attack on internet archive
New Delhi: A pro-Palestinian hacktivist group, "SN_BlackMeta," has claimed responsibility for a significant cyberattack on the Internet Archive, resulting in the exposure of personal data for 31 million users. The breach compromised email addresses, usernames, and encrypted passwords, raising serious concerns about the security and data privacy of the digital library, widely known for its Wayback Machine.
The attack, discovered on October 9, exploited a vulnerability in a JavaScript (JS) library on the Internet Archive's website. A pop-up message appeared, notifying users of the breach, stating, "Have you ever felt like the Internet Archive runs on sticks and is constantly on the verge of suffering a catastrophic security breach? It just happened. See 31 million of you on HIBP!" The message referred to the service "Have I Been Pwned?" (HIBP), which helps users check if their data has been compromised.
Cybersecurity experts confirmed that the 6.4 GB database, shared by the attackers, contained email addresses, usernames, and passwords for millions of users. Troy Hunt, founder of HIBP, stated that over half of the compromised email addresses had already appeared in previous data breaches.
Brewster Kahle, the founder of the Internet Archive, acknowledged the breach and ongoing Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks that disrupted the platform. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kahle explained the steps taken, including disabling the compromised JS library and upgrading security protocols. He noted, "DDOS attack fended off for now; defacement of our website via JS library; breach of usernames/email/salted-encrypted passwords. We are scrubbing systems and enhancing security."
Despite efforts to restore service, the Internet Archive's website, including its popular Wayback Machine, has experienced intermittent outages. The organisation continues to address the fallout from the attack while reinforcing its systems.
The hacker group "SN_BlackMeta," linked to previous cyberattacks on Middle Eastern financial institutions, took credit for both the data breach and the DDoS attacks. In an X post, the group claimed their attack was motivated by pro-Palestinian sentiments, alleging that the Internet Archive, though not a U.S. government entity, is tied to American support for Israel. However, a community note on the post clarified that the Internet Archive is a nonprofit organisation that hosts extensive resources on Palestine.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
