Elon Musk Reports Large-Scale Cyber Attack on X, Suggests Possible State Involvement

Elon Musk reported that X (formerly Twitter) was targeted by a large-scale cyber attack, affecting over 40,000 users on Monday. He stated that the attack was carried out with significant resources and suggested that a large coordinated group or a nation-state could be responsible. Later, he claimed on Fox News that some IP addresses linked to the attack were traced to the ‘Ukraine area.’

The attack, identified as a denial-of-service (DoS) attack, was reported by Downdetector, with outages peaking at 10 am and 2 pm UK time. A group named ‘Dark Storm Team’ initially claimed responsibility in a Telegram post, which was later deleted. A source in the internet infrastructure industry confirmed multiple waves of DoS attacks against X around 9:45 am.

The attack comes amid geopolitical tensions, as the US recently reduced Ukraine’s access to satellite imagery and intelligence. Musk’s statement adds to the ongoing discourse around cybersecurity threats involving state actors. The National Cyber Security Centre notes that DoS attacks aim to overload networks, causing disruption without necessarily being sophisticated. The incident raises concerns about online platform security and potential geopolitical motivations behind cyber warfare.