Elon Musk Claims X Was Hit by a "Massive Cyber-Attack" Amid Service Outages
On Monday afternoon, Elon Musk alleged that X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, was the target of a "massive cyber-attack" that led to widespread service disruptions throughout the day. Users across the globe experienced difficulties accessing the platform, with posts failing to load and intermittent outages persisting for hours.
Unprecedented Scale of Attack
In a post on X, Musk stated, "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." His claim suggests the involvement of state-sponsored actors or an organized group with significant capabilities. However, he did not provide concrete evidence to support these assertions.
According to Downdetector, a website that tracks online outages, reports of disruptions on X began surging at around 5:45 AM before stabilizing for a few hours. A second wave of outages occurred around midday, with the majority of complaints coming from mobile users. Affected users were met with an error message stating, "Something went wrong," and were advised to reload the platform.
Speculations and Musk’s Response
Musk's claims came in response to a cryptocurrency influencer who suggested that the outage might be linked to broader opposition against Musk's business ventures. In recent days, protests had erupted against Musk’s "department of government efficiency" initiative, and Tesla dealerships had been vandalized.
Later that day, Musk reiterated his cyber-attack claim during an interview on Fox Business, hinting that the attack may have originated from Ukraine. "We’re not sure exactly what happened, but there was a massive cyber-attack to try and bring down the X system with IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area," he said.
Political Context and Past Claims
Musk’s statement comes at a time of increasing tensions between himself and the Ukrainian government, particularly as the relationship between Ukraine and former U.S. President Donald Trump remains uncertain. Over the weekend, Musk declared that Ukraine’s "entire front line" would collapse if he decided to disable Starlink, the satellite communications network operated by his company, SpaceX. Additionally, he lashed out at Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, calling him a "traitor" after the lawmaker posted about his visit to Ukraine.
This is not the first time Musk has claimed cyber-attacks were responsible for technical issues on X. When his livestreamed interview with Donald Trump crashed almost immediately last year, he alleged it was due to a "massive DDoS attack." However, a source within the company later told The Verge that there was no evidence to support that claim.
Lack of Evidence Raises Questions
Despite Musk’s strong assertions, no technical evidence has been presented to verify that X was indeed targeted by a large-scale cyber-attack. Given his history of making bold claims regarding outages and external interference, skepticism remains among cybersecurity experts and the platform’s users.
For now, the cause of Monday’s disruption remains unclear, leaving questions about whether X was truly under attack or experiencing internal technical difficulties. As X continues to face operational challenges, its ability to maintain stable service in the face of potential cyber threats will be closely watched
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