The Wayback Machine returns in limited capacity after recent attacks

The Internet Archive is back online in a limited capacity after a massive cyber attack disrupted its services earlier this month. The site, known for its Wayback Machine, remains vulnerable, and full functionality has not yet been restored.

The Wayback Machine, which preserves billions of web pages, is now operating in read-only mode. Users can still access archived content, but cannot upload new material or update existing pages. The read-only mode affects all parts of the archive, including the ability to save new web pages.

This month’s distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack overwhelmed the archive’s systems, taking down its normal operations.

Cybersecurity experts warn that such attacks are becoming increasingly common and difficult to defend against, particularly for platforms like the Internet Archive that rely on donations and grants for funding.

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The downtime is more than an inconvenience for many, as it disrupts the preservation of vital online content.

The Internet Archive’s founder, Brewster Kahle, continues to give updates on the state of the website as well. Kahle said that while read-only mode has been restored, more maintenance will be needed, and that the website may be taken down again in the near future for the fixes.

The @internetarchive’s Wayback Machine resumed in a provisional, read-only manner.

Sorry, no Save Page Now yet.

Safe to resume but might need further maintenance, in which case it will be suspended again.

Please be gentle https://t.co/sb5tlvxQ26

More as it happens.

— Brewster Kahle (@brewster_kahle) October 14, 2024

While limited access has been restored, the Internet Archive has not yet provided a timeline for a full recovery, though it assures users that the team is working to prevent future disruptions.