Internet Archive is continuing to experience service disruptions due to a recurrence of a DDoS attack

ForgottenFlux@lemmy.world to Technology@lemmy.world – 495 points –
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Tweets from @internetarchive:

May 27, 2024 · 3:40 PM UTC

Sorry to say, archive.org is under a ddos attack. The data is not affected, but most services are unavailable.

We are working on it. This thread will have updates.

May 27, 2024 · 5:11 PM UTC

up again.

This has been a back and forth with the attackers. We have made some adjustments, but geez.

at least, Happy Memorial Day!

May 28, 2024 · 1:46 PM UTC

We are continuing to experience service disruptions due to a recurrence of a ddos attack. We’ll post updates in this thread.

If you wish to view tweets without directly using Twitter, one of these three currently operational Nitter (Nitter is a Twitter front-end focused on privacy) instances may be helpful:

The Internet Archive has a Mastodon account as well, though it doesn't seem to be fully up to date.

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Let's hear some good tinfoil hat theories!

I'll start. Maybe one of the LLM/AI companies are trying to bypass newly implemented barrers to training data by using the archive, and it's totally overwhelming their servers?

I think it's more likely that someone is trying to keep competitors from mining it for a short term advantage

Who needs it down right now?

Someone with their own proprietary large dataset trying to eliminate non-proprietary alternatives?

Decent theory money does drive a lot of human behavior.

Any suggestions on who this actor could be?

Google?

I highly doubt this was done by Google

Why wouldn’t companies have already got their data long ago? Internet archive is nothing new.

Existing AI companies got their data long ago—but it’s in their interest to create barriers for entry to new AI companies.

Someone facing an enormous lawsuit who realized their tweets / claims were accessible and needs to buy time for their legal team.

I wouldn't be surprised, because it's happened before, that the Internet Archive has been attacked legally by copyright firms for what is hosted there. Like music, games and books in particular.

So it's likely that it isn't suits attacking Internet Archive for this reason, it's presumably a mixed batch of copyright trolls and spiteful shitty human beings with too much time on their hands.

We should have a call for hackers/pentesters/cybersec enthusiasts to find these little shits and break their infrastructure

I definitely don't think it's the case, but damn, can you imagine if they were doing this to themselves to drive donations? That would be diabolical.

That would be a next level bamboozle but if it were true I’m wouldn't even be mad.

If they came out and said this is what we did, I would donate to them just because of how gangster that move is

The Internet Archive is so incredible that it’s nearly offensive to even think such a thing heh (not to censor you, just my visceral reaction)

Well, they find themselves in a delicate situation with the US publishing and recording industry associations. It could be one of their resources to keep the library alive by scaring users with the possibility that it will cease to exist due to malicious entities and their advanced techniques, which as I said is not so far from reality