Additional Coverage:
- Twitter down for third time as ‘Dark Storm hackers’ claim responsibility amid fears of DDoS attack (themirror.com)
X Under Cyberattack, Musk Hints at State-Sponsored Action
The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, experienced multiple outages on Monday, prompting owner Elon Musk to suggest a nation-state may be behind the disruption. Musk posted on X that the platform was under a “massive cyberattack” requiring significant resources and pointing to either a large, coordinated group or a country as the perpetrator.
A group known as “Dark Storm Team,” which has a history of sophisticated cyberattacks against high-security systems, claimed responsibility for the incident via a Telegram post. While details of the post remain unclear, one report suggests the group boasted about taking X offline.
This claim aligns with Dark Storm Team’s recent threats to target government websites of NATO countries, Israel, and its supporting nations. Security reports identify Dark Storm Team as focusing on key business sectors primarily in Israel and NATO member countries.
The outages caused widespread disruption, with tens of thousands of user reports flooding Downdetector. Service was largely restored by 2 p.m.
EDT. While the motive behind the attack remains unclear, it comes amidst heightened tensions and protests surrounding Musk’s other ventures, including Tesla, and his political influence.
X Users Seek Refuge on BlueSky
During the X outages, interest in the alternative social media platform BlueSky surged. Google searches for the app, designed as a decentralized alternative to Twitter, more than doubled compared to the previous day. BlueSky, which became an independent company in 2021 and launched publicly in February 2024, now boasts over 30 million users and continues to attract those dissatisfied with X.
What is a DDoS Attack?
A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack disrupts normal traffic flow to a targeted server, service, or network by overwhelming it with internet traffic. This renders the target inaccessible to legitimate users. A common sign of a DDoS attack is a sudden slowdown or complete inaccessibility of a website.
Musk Facing Multiple Fronts
The cyberattack on X follows protests targeting Musk’s company Tesla and his political activities. Demonstrations have taken place outside Tesla facilities across the U.S., with some escalating to property damage. Authorities are currently investigating these incidents.