WEBDESK: A widespread X cyberattack caused major disruptions throughout Monday morning, leaving millions of users unable to access the social media platform for hours. The hacker group Dark Storm quickly took responsibility, claiming it was a politically motivated attack. However, Elon Musk suggested that Ukraine could have played a role, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the incident.
The outage came as platform monitor Downdetector said it had seen tens of thousands of reports from US users of technical issues affecting the platform.
This marks one of the most significant cyberattacks on X since Musk took ownership of the platform, raising serious concerns about digital security and online warfare.
Who is Dark Storm?
Dark Storm Team, a cyber hacking group founded in 2023, has quickly garnered attention for their sophisticated cyber warfare tactics. They are believed to be responsible for the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on X, which caused widespread disruptions.
After the X cyberattack, Dark Storm posted a message online on Telegram claiming responsibility. In their post, they shared a screenshot of a real-time connectivity status page displaying numerous failed connection attempts from across the globe. Cybersecurity experts are investigating whether the group acted alone or had external backing.
Elon Musk Suggests Ukraine’s Involvement
Elon Musk, the owner of X, suggested in an interview with Fox News that Ukraine could have been involved in the attack. He did not provide direct proof but stated that “certain patterns” in the X cyberattack pointed to a larger, more coordinated effort.
Musk claims the outages originated from a “massive cyber-attack” that originated “in the Ukraine area.”
However, he offered no further proof to back up his statement. Earlier, he posted on X that “either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved”.
Impact and Response
The X cyberattack resulted in major outages across multiple regions, with users unable to load posts, send messages, or access key features of the platform. It took several hours before X’s technical team restored services.
This incident has raised concerns about the security of online platforms, especially as cyber threats become more sophisticated and politically motivated. Experts warn that if groups like Dark Storm can disrupt major platforms, they could also target financial institutions, government websites, and other critical systems.
