The Internet Archive will come back within “days” following a cyberattack that brought down the organization’s vast digital library and the Wayback Machine, according to an update from founder Brewster Kahle. It’s been struggling due to a data breach and DDoS attack earlier this week that revealed the email addresses, screen names, password change timestamps, and other information associated with more than 31 million unique email addresses.
Currently, if you try to access the Internet Archive’s website, you’ll see a notice that says it’s “temporarily” offline. Links to the Wayback Machine also won’t load.
“The data is safe. Services are offline as we examine and strengthen them. Sorry, but needed. @internetarchive staff is working hard. Estimated Timeline: days, not weeks,” writes Kahle.
After a pop-up from a purported hacker claimed the archive had suffered a “catastrophic security breach” earlier this week, Have I Been Pwned founder Troy Hunt confirmed he’d received a file with the stolen data, so anyone registered on his site can get an alert if it includes their information.
