THE Internet Archive fell victim to a major cyberattack in fall 2024, along with its digital library and Wayback Machine.

The data of millions of users has been compromised — here’s everything you need to know about the attack, plus how to stay safe online.

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The data of 31million people was stolen during the Internet Archive breach[/caption]

How the Internet Archive Data breach happened

The incident began on October 9, 2024, when a malicious JavaScript pop-up appeared on the Internet Archive website, alerting visitors to a security breach potentially affecting 31million users.

The message read: “Have you ever felt like the Internet Archive runs on sticks and is constantly on the verge of suffering a catastrophic security breach? It just happened. See 31 million of you on HIBP!”

The message not only indicated that the breach had taken place, but also directed users to Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) — a site where individuals can check if their email addresses and passwords have been compromised in data breaches.

This coincided with distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) assaults that began on October 8, aimed at disrupting the Internet Archive’s website and servers, while also rendering the Wayback Machine inaccessible.

The Wayback Machine

The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web, operated by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco.

Established in 1996 and publicly launched in 2001, it enables users to access archived versions of websites, effectively allowing them to “travel back in time” to see how web pages appeared at various points in history.

The Internet Archive Data breach

Troy Hunt, founder of Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), confirmed that the attack occurred in September, exposing 31 million email addresses, usernames, bcrypt password hashes, and other internal system data.

The stolen database, a 6.4GB SQL file named ‘ia_users.sql’ contained records up to September 28, 2024.

 Internet Archive Data breach details

The cyberattack involved multiple components:

• Data breach: Compromising user information
• Website defacement: Through a JavaScript library exploit
• Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks: Rendering services like the Wayback Machine inaccessible

Brewster Kahle, the Internet Archive’s founder, acknowledged the breach and outlined the organization’s response.

He wrote on X/Twitter: “What we know: DDoS attack — fended off for now; defacement of our website via JS library; breach of usernames / email / salted-encrypted passwords.

“What we’ve done: Disabled the JS library, scrubbing systems, upgrading security.”

Claimed responsibility

A ‘hacktivist’ group called SN_BlackMeta claimed responsibility for the DDoS attacks.

The group, linked to pro-Palestinian movements, stated their attack lasted five hours and targeted the Archive due to perceived connections with the US.

Protect yourself from phishing

The breach exposed 31 million unique email addresses, screen names and bcrypt-hashed passwords.

Bcrypt is an adaptive cryptographic hash function specifically designed for securely hashing passwords.

Password hashing is the process of transforming a plaintext password into a fixed-size string of characters — called a hash — using a mathematical algorithm.

While bcrypt is a strong encryption algorithm, users are advised to change their passwords, especially if reused across platforms.

The Internet Archive is currently working to restore services and enhance security measures.

Kahle stated: “We are working to restore services as quickly and safely as possible.”

Affected users should:

• Change passwords, particularly if reused on other platforms
• Avoid downloading or interacting with files from the Internet Archive until the organization declares the breach resolved

DR Jerome Oziel was one of the first people that Erik Menendez confessed to about the crime he had committed alongside his older brother Lyle. 

The brothers’ had murdered their parents, Kitty and Jose, in a killing that shocked America. 

Court tv

AP: Associated press

The crime was dramatised in Ryan Murphy’s series Monsters and was explored further in the Netflix documentary The Menendez Brothers.

Here’s everything you need to know about the confession that changed everything in the Menendez case.

A shock confession 

Jerome had been working as a therapist since getting his doctorate in 1972, but met the Menendez brothers in 1988. 

He took on Erik and Lyle as clients after they had committed a series of burglaries.

Jerome then became one of the first people that Erik confessed to after he and his brother murdered their parents. 

Due to patient-therapist confidentiality laws, Jeremy did not report his client’s confession to the police but he did decide to begin recording their sessions.

He also told his mistress, Judalon Smyth, about Erik’s confession in a decision that directly led to the arrests of both brothers. 

When Jerome split up with Judalon, she told the police everything that Erik had shared with his therapist including details about the recordings. 

It took some time to determine if the tapes could be used in court, but two of the recordings eventually became key parts of the trial.

Netflix

Erik and Lyle’s crime 

On August 20, 1989, the Menendez brothers entered their parents home and murdered them in a brutal shooting. 

They phoned the police and lived a lavish lifestyle, free of suspicion for months. 

Erik and Lyle even sat in the front row of a high-profile basketball game after the crime. 

However, Erik’s confession to Jerome eventually caught up to them and they were arrested. 

The Menendez Trial

Jerome became one of the prosecution’s key witnesses, though therapists are rarely called to testify in court. 

An exception was made in Jerome’s case, however, as Judalon reportedly overheard Lyle make a threat on Jerome’s life.

This voided Jerome’s need to honor therapist-patient confidentiality. 

In the first trial, the brothers opened up about their alleged abuse at the hands of their father but the trial ended in a hung jury. 

In the second trial, restrictions were put in place that limited how much they could talk about their claimed sex abuse. 

The court case was broadcast on Court TV and soon Americans were glued to their screens.

Eventually, both brothers were sentenced to life in prison without parole.

the mega agency

After the trial

Once the Menendez brothers were sentenced, Jerome had his license to practice as a therapist revoked. 

The California Board of Psychology said that had wrongfully shared information with Judalon and also alleged that she was a client of his.

This would mean that their relationship could be classified as sexual misconduct. 

Jerome agreed to surrender his license, but told Bustle in 2017 that this was not because of the accusations against him.

Jerome said: “I did not surrender my license due to the accusation, which implies I gave up my practice because I did things alleged in the original accusation.

“I had phased out of my practice because I had a major business offer that was highly lucrative and moved to be the CEO of a large business in another state a year and a half prior to the surrender. … No agency ever found I did a thing that was improper or wrong.”

He now lives in Albuquerque and goes by the name “Jerry”. 

REGGAETON star El Taiger has died – just a week after he was shot in the head in Miami.

The music artist, 37, was found in the back of a Mercedes SUV on October 3 and cops are investigating if he was dumped at a hospital.

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The rapper El Taiger has died after being shot[/caption]

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A week later, a statement in Spanish was uploaded to his Instagram Stories, updating fans that he had died.

The lengthy post claimed El Taiger, whose real name was Jose Manuel Carbajal Zaldívar, was the victim of a “senseless violent crime.”

“El Taiger was pronounced dead and is now reunited with his beloved mother in heaven,” it said.

But mystery surrounds the music star’s death.

The car in which the rapper was found was discovered near the city’s Jackson Memorial Hospital.

But Miami cops believe the rapper may have been shot in a different area, as reported by Telemundo.

“We are certain it did not happen on that corner where the car was found. This happened somewhere else, someone drove it there, left it and left on foot,” Miami police spokesperson Mike Vega said.

Police revealed they had to haul the star’s body from the back of the car, and there was a lot of blood.

Police were quick to rule out that El Taiger died by suicide.

Cops have named Damian Valdez-Galloso, 49, as a person of interest.

Manuel Morales, a Miami Police chief, believes Valdez-Galloso has more information to share.

Neighbors told the Cuban outlet CiberCuba that Swat teams searched Valdez-Galloso’s home in Hialeah –a city in Miami-Dade County.

One woman, known only as Yamira, told local media that she often exchanged pleasantries with Valdez-Galloso but didn’t know him well.

“I’ve known him for a year, but we never shared anything,” she said.

El Taiger boasted over one million listeners on Spotify and had over a million followers on Instagram.

He worked with the former Barcelona goalkeeper José Manuel Pinto and DJ Ricky Luna on the hit La Habana, which was part of the Fate of the Furious soundtrack.

Just days before the shooting, El Taiger promoted his new collaboration with the star Seikan Anikila.

He claimed the new track would blow people’s minds.

But, El Taiger appeared to share a cryptic post telling fans: “Never forget.”

The video showed him driving, and the phrase “Alone and we die alone, and this world imposes a set of rules on us so we forget, but I never” appeared on screen.

Mourners have held a vigil in memory of the music man.

Cops have issued a $5,000 reward in an appeal for information relating to Valdez-Galloso.

Miami Police

Damien Valdez-Galloso is wanted by cops over the shooting[/caption]

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