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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Fascism will not be allowed to enter through the back door of vote rigging: CM Siddaramaiah
New Delhi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday asserted that fascism would not be allowed to enter India “through the back door of vote rigging” and called upon citizens to collectively defend the country’s democratic foundations.
Speaking after participating in an anti–vote rigging protest organised in New Delhi, Siddaramaiah said the gathering was not merely a political demonstration but a stand to protect Indian democracy. “We have come to the heart of our republic not as Congress workers or voters, but as protectors of Indian democracy,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of the right to vote, Siddaramaiah said it was the most sacred right guaranteed by the Constitution and the very foundation of democracy.
“Through voting, a farmer shapes the future of his children, a worker safeguards his dignity, a youth realises dreams, and a nation expresses its collective will,” he said.
He accused the BJP-led Union government of attempting to undermine this right through what he termed systematic vote rigging, including the alleged misuse of the special revision of electoral rolls. “This power is being stolen repeatedly,” he alleged.
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Warning against authoritarian tendencies, Siddaramaiah said history had shown that dictatorship does not begin with violence but with the misuse of institutions and manipulation of democratic systems.
“Across the world, authoritarian regimes pretend to protect democracy while quietly subverting it. This is what the BJP is doing today,” he charged.
He alleged that the ruling party was controlling institutions, intimidating electoral machinery, distorting voter lists, suppressing voter turnout in opposition strongholds, and misusing money and power. “This is not mere maladministration. Vote rigging is an attack on the very idea of India,” he said.
Siddaramaiah further claimed that governments formed through “stolen votes” could not be considered democratic.
“Such regimes survive through fear, fraud and distortion of the people’s mandate,” he said, adding that vote rigging posed the biggest threat to the republic since Independence.
Praising Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah said he had shown exceptional courage in exposing alleged irregularities in voter lists, booth-level manipulation and “systematic, organised vote rigging” across several states, including Karnataka, Haryana and Bihar.
Referring to Karnataka, Siddaramaiah cited Mahadevpura and Aland constituencies as examples highlighted by Gandhi. In Mahadevpura, he said, thousands of allegedly fake and fraudulent voter entries and discrepancies in electoral rolls pointed to a narrow BJP victory. In Aland, he said, attempts were made to remove the names of legitimate voters ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
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He noted that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had recently filed a chargesheet accusing seven persons, including a former BJP MLA and his son, of attempting to delete the names of around 6,000 voters in Aland.
“This is a significant legal step in the fight against vote rigging,” he said.
Siddaramaiah concluded by stating that the fight against vote rigging was rooted in constitutional morality, Ambedkarite thought and the core principle of democracy. “Sovereignty belongs to the people, not to any party, regime or those who seek to steal elections,” he said.
