A prolonged cyberattack that took down the Internet Archive and its Wayback Machine service has compromised user data. Users who logged into the site to access its vast resources are being urged to change their passwords immediately, Gizmodo reports .

The pro-Palestinian hacktivist group SN_BLACKMETA claimed responsibility for the attack, posting messages on the social media platforms X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram. They said the motivation for the attack was to counter the US government’s support for Israel .

In one of the deleted posts, SN_BLACKMETA criticized the Internet Archive as a nonprofit that nonetheless reflects U.S. interests that harm lives abroad. The group previously claimed responsibility for a six-day DDoS attack on the same archive in May, during which they generated tens of thousands of fake requests for information per second.

The Internet Archive is an American nonprofit digital library website founded in 1996 by Brewster Keil. It provides free access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications, music, audiovisual materials, and printed materials. The archive also advocates for a free and open Internet. As of September 5, 2024, the Internet Archive contained over 42.1 million printed materials, with the Wayback Machine storing over 866 billion web pages. The project’s mission is to provide “universal access to all knowledge.”

Earlier, Russians were told about ways to create a password that is resistant to hacking.

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