Related videos:
The platform X, formerly known as Twitter, experienced one of its largest global outages this Monday.
Thousands of users in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom reported issues with the social network, ranging from slow loading times to errors with code 520, associated with server problems.
Elon Musk, owner of X, reported a "massive cyberattack" and suggested that a "large coordinated group or a country" may be behind this event.
Interviewed by Fox Business, Musk pointed to IP addresses located in Ukraine as possible perpetrators of the attack.
However, the cybersecurity group SpyoSecure revealed that the action was claimed by the hackers group Dark Storm, a collective aligned with pro-Palestinian movements and with alleged connections to Russia.
In a message posted on Telegram and later deleted, the leader of Dark Storm claimed that the attack was a demonstration of their capabilities without political motivations.
Dark Storm defines itself as a hacktivist group, meaning it employs cyber threats for political purposes, not just economic ones. They identify as pro-Palestinian. A representative of Dark Storm informed Bloomberg News that the attack was part of a broader effort against Israel.
The group emerged in 2023 and, according to El Español, their history of attacks includes organizations in Israel, Europe, and the United States. Among their previously claimed achievements, they assert to have taken down the website of Spain's Ministry of Equality on March 8, International Women's Day.
The attack occurred in a context of increasing instability for Musk, who is also facing protests against his company Tesla in the United States.
In particular, the "Take Down Tesla" movement has organized protests in response to the cuts initiated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative promoted by the mogul. Tesla's shares have dropped by more than 15% in the last trading session, exacerbating the impact of the crisis.
This is not the first time that X has suffered a denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. In August of last year, Musk stated that the platform was the target of a similar attack shortly before an interview with Donald Trump.
Filed under:
