News
Internet Archive hit by DDOS Attack
May 2024 by John Allison, director of public sector at Checkmarx
The Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library, was hit by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. The Internet Archive confirmed this on its Twitter account, stating: “Archive.org is under a DDoS attack. The data is not affected, but most services are unavailable.” John Allison, Director of Public Sector, Checkmarx:
“The Internet Archive has reported that they are under an ongoing Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, and while the vast historical data is safe, the attack has made the site unavailable for their users. DDoS attacks have been around for decades at this point, and this attack reminds us that even old school attacks remain effective. The internet was never designed to contain malicious behaviour, it was designed to enable sharing and community.
Unfortunately, there is no easy countermeasure to DDoS, and the countermeasures generally available today can be expensive, and I’m sure as a non-profit, the Internet Archive doesn’t have unlimited money to spend on DDoS countermeasures. It is a shame to see such a valuable resource be attacked, and it is unlikely that the attackers will ever be identified, unless they come out and boast about it. I hope that the attacker realise that going after non-profits isn’t profitable and move on.”
