History Meets Hackers: Internet Archive Battles Ongoing DDoS Attacks

The Internet Archive is allegedly subject to continuing DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks. The attacks began over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, according to the California-based charity, and some users reported being unable to access the digital archive site for several hours on Monday.

Why target the Internet Archive?

The motives behind DDoS attacks can vary. In the case of the Internet Archive, it seems:

• Ideological Vendetta: Some believe that the attackers oppose the archive’s mission of open access to information. Perhaps they resent the democratization of knowledge or harbor a grudge against the organization.
• Collateral Damage: The Internet Archive hosts controversial content, including political websites, historical documents, and even old Geocities pages. An attack on the archive could inadvertently affect unrelated sites.

"Archive.org is under DDoS attack," the nonprofit's X account announced Monday morning. "The data is not affected, but most services are unavailable."

The Internet Archive’s response

The nonprofit swiftly responded to the attacks. While details about the perpetrators have not surfaced, the organization changed its infrastructure to enhance resilience. It’s a delicate balancing act: maintaining accessibility while safeguarding against future attacks.

A few hours later, the organization reported that there was some "back and forth with the attackers." The business says it made certain improvements to its service but has not yet revealed further data on the attackers' identity or any likely motive for the attack.

Multiple X users reported that the site was still down Monday afternoon, despite Internet Archive's announcement that its services had been restored. On Monday, the organization verified that the DDoS attacks have resumed.

The archive site also reported network traffic difficulties on Sunday. Brewster Kahle, the founder and board chair of the Internet Archive, stated that the troubles on Sunday could have been caused by an "over-aggressive crawling group" or a DDoS attack and that the site typically experiences more technical issues on weekends.

The Anatomy of a DDoS Attack

DDoS attacks are like digital traffic jams. They flood a target server with an overwhelming volume of requests, causing it to slow down or crash. Here’s how they work:

• Botnet Deployment: Attackers assemble a botnet—a network of compromised computers or devices—by infecting them with malware. These bots become unwitting foot soldiers in the attack.
• Coordination: The attacker orchestrates the botnet to send a barrage of requests to the target server. The sheer volume overwhelms the server’s capacity to respond.
• Impact: The target server becomes sluggish or unresponsive, affecting legitimate users who rely on its services.

The bigger picture

While additional digital archive sites exist, many of them use domain extensions headquartered outside of the United States. Internet Archive was started in San Francisco, California, in 1996. Kahle has been advocating for "universal access to all knowledge" through books, websites, and other forms of media for decades.

In addition to hacks, the archive group has faced several lawsuits in recent years. In 2020, major US book publishers sued the nonprofit over the Internet Archive's digital book lending scheme, alleging copyright infringement. Last year, a judge decided that the program breached the publishers' copyright. However, the foundation continues to contend that "controlled digital lending" is fair usage.

In 2023, Sony and Universal Music sued Internet Archive over their music archives, claiming copyright violation.