The Internet Archive is backing up its extensive database on the Filecoin network, ensuring enhanced data integrity, security, and decentralized access.
The Internet Archive, often recognized as “The Wayback Machine,” is a digital library that archives billions of web pages, allowing users to view past versions of websites. It also makes digital copies of physical books and other media. It will loan them out on a 1/1 ratio. If they purchased one book or publication, they only loan out one copy. Think of it as a physical library, but “in the cloud”.
The organization is backing up its extensive database on the Filecoin network, ensuring enhanced data integrity, security, and decentralized access. A representative from The Archive attended October’s FIL Vegas event, and they are very enthusiastic about their use of IPFS and Filecoin to store data.
The Internet Archive’s integration with Filecoin is a game-changer for digital preservation. By backing up on the Filecoin network, The Wayback Machine not only ensures a decentralized safeguarding of internet history against data loss but also enhances accessibility. This partnership, which began in 2021 with a grant from Protocol Labs, represents a monumental step in future-proofing our digital legacy, leveraging Filecoin’s robust, secure, and efficient storage capabilities to maintain a repository of the web’s evolution for generations to come. This strategic move underscores the growing importance of distributed storage solutions in maintaining the vast trove of human knowledge and digital culture.
So why did The Internet Archive choose Filecoin?
Storing Internet Archive data on Filecoin offers unparalleled security over traditional storage solutions. Filecoin’s decentralized network eliminates single points of failure, ensuring data longevity and resistance to censorship. With its unique cryptographic proofs for storage verification, Filecoin ensures data integrity, making the archive’s vast resources not just safer, but also verifiably unchanged and authentic. This shift marks a critical advancement in preserving the web’s heritage, providing a resilient fortress for our digital records in the face of increasing threats to data stability in the digital age.
