DDoS Blamed as X Suffers Multiple Outages
A pro-Palestine group appears to have claimed responsibility for a major DDoS attack on social media site X (formerly Twitter) yesterday.
According to data from Downdetector, tens of thousands of users reported outages in several waves, from around 09.30 to 18.20. The majority (58%) were using the mobile app.
Controversial owner Elon Musk also took to the site to confirm the news.
“There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against X. We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved,” he said.
Providing no evidence, he then reportedly told Fox Business later on Monday that a large number of IP addresses had originated in Ukraine. However, even if this were true, threat actors could have used compromised servers located inside the war-torn country in order to hide their true location.
Read more on X cyber-attacks: Advanced Phishing Attacks Put X Accounts at Risk
Security experts have pointed to another more likely source: a pro-Palestine threat group known as “Dark Storm Team,” which has launched DDoS attacks at targets in the US, Ukraine, the UAE and Israel over the past month. It’s unclear if the group is genuine or a front for Russian operatives.
Screenshots of the group’s Telegram account shared by Check Point Research show the group claiming responsibility for the attack. The security vendor said in a statement that the attack on X is “consistent with [the group’s] broader goal of destabilising prominent digital platforms and infrastructure.”
At the time of writing on Tuesday morning, the DDoS surge seemed to have subsided – although this may change.
“For users, this means potential service disruptions, downtime, and limited access to essential websites and apps. While companies work to mitigate these attacks, users may experience delays, errors, or outages on affected platforms,” explained Oded Vanunu, chief technologist, Web 3.0, at Check Point.
“For businesses and organizations, this reinforces the need for stronger cybersecurity defenses, especially against DDoS attacks, which can cripple online services. As these threats evolve, both users and companies should stay informed, have alternative communication channels, and be prepared for possible future disruptions.”
DDoS attacks surged in both volume and magnitude in the second half of 2024, according to recently published data from Gcore.
The security vendor claimed to have recorded a 56% annual increase in DDoS attacks in H2 2024 and a 17% increase from the first to the second six months of the year.
Image credit: BongkarnGraphic / Shutterstock.com
