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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Kumaraswamy says ‘caste for sake of a chair’ charge against CM Siddaramaiah was serious
Bengaluru (PTI): Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday launched a sharp counterattack on Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, asserting that his charge that the CM had “dragged caste into the picture for the sake of a chair” was made in all seriousness and not in jest.
Responding to Siddaramaiah’s media statement targeting the JD(S) leadership, Kumaraswamy in a post on X said, “When I said that Siddaramaiah has dragged caste into the picture for the sake of a chair, I did not say it jokingly; I said it seriously."
In his statement, Siddaramaiah had alleged that Kumaraswamy and his father, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, were 'family-centric' and that "in the past, present and future, the top leaders of the Janata Dal (Secular) will be members of the Gowda family".
Reacting to this, the MP wrote, “Siddaramaiah, I do not speak in a roundabout manner. I will come straight to the point.”
Taking strong exception to Siddaramaiah’s remarks against his father, Kumaraswamy said, “You are not a champion of social justice but its destroyer. It is shocking that you are pointing fingers at Deve Gowda, who gave you political strength and life. The power you hold today and the attire of a social justice crusader you wear are all gifts of Deve Gowda. You too are a product and beneficiary of his social justice.”
He further contended that had Deve Gowda been guided solely by caste or family considerations, Siddaramaiah would not have risen in politics.
“Had he thought only about his own caste and family back then, you would not have become Finance Minister, nor would you have secured even the chairmanship of a corporation,” he said.
Referring to the Chief Minister’s listing of several Vokkaliga leaders who had left the JD(S), Kumaraswamy said, “Like you, they too enjoyed power and grew in stature because of Deve Gowda’s hard work and sacrifice, and later jumped the fence. As you claim, had Gowda believed that only family mattered, none of those on the list would have become MLAs, Ministers or MPs — including you! What do you say?”
He also objected to Siddaramaiah invoking senior Congress leaders in his defence.
“Do you possess even a mustard seed’s worth of worthiness or morality to utter S M Krishna’s name? The world knows how cruelly you betrayed Krishna, whom you once described before Sonia Gandhi as ‘an unpolished diamond’ and who paved your way into the Congress,” he wrote.
Kumaraswamy rejected the Chief Minister’s claim that the Congress alone had nurtured Vokkaliga leaders. “You say it is the Congress that nurtured Vokkaligas — sheer nonsense… If the Congress alone makes Vokkaligas Chief Ministers, should you not immediately vacate the chair? This is the right time to demonstrate your love for Vokkaligas!” he said.
He also raised questions about Siddaramaiah’s second term as Chief Minister and the reported power tussle between him and his deputy D K Shivakumar.
The JD(S) leader said he welcomed the generosity of the Congress in giving capable leadership to the Vokkaliga community.
He demanded that Siddaramaiah should also need to demonstrate that generosity by vacating the top post, paving the way for a 'Vokkaliga' -- an apparent reference to Shivakumar.
According to Kumaraswamy, before Siddaramaiah became the Chief Minister for a second term, there was an agreement between him and Shivakumar and he should now show the generosity to reveal it publicly. "I believe that Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala, who were witnesses to that agreement between the two of you in Delhi, have now understood the peak of your commitment to social justice and love for Vokkaligas. At least I believe their mental faculties are intact."
In a pointed remark on social justice, Kumaraswamy alleged that it is repulsive that the "destroyer of social justice" keeps speaking repeatedly about social justice.
"Your social justice has no conscience. If it had, Mallikarjun Kharge would have become Chief Minister before you,” the Union Minister said.
Concluding his post, he said if Siddaramaiah was truly a leader of AHINDA (an acronym for minorities, backward castes and Dalits) and a representative of social justice, he would not have dragged in the caste into which he was born at such a sensitive time.
He advised Siddaramaiah not to invoke the names of social reformers in future.
