A hacking group with ties to Russia has claimed responsibility for the massive cyberattack on X, which saw the social media platform unable to be accessed by thousands of users, although user functionality was quickly restored. 

Cybersecurity group SpyoSecure said in a March 10 post to X that hacker group Dark Storm made a Telegram post taking credit for the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, which was posted by the group’s leader. 

“To anyone wondering why X (Twitter) was down, it was under attack by Dark Storm Team,” SpyoSecure said. 

Source: SpyoSecure

The Telegram channel has since been deleted for violating the platform’s terms of service. Screenshots shared on X show them stating they “took Twitter offline,” alongside a screenshot of failed connection attempts from various global locations.

Ed Krassenstein, a social media personality and co-founder of NFT marketplace NFTz.me, said in a March 10 post to X that he had also been investigating the attack and was in touch with Dark Storm’s leader, who again claimed they were behind it.

“The reason he gives me for the attack is just a demonstration of our strength, with no political motives,” Krassenstein said.

The pro-Palestinian hacker group Dark Storm has been active since 2023, has ties to Russia, and is known for targeting NATO countries. 

Platform owner Elon Musk confirmed the social media platform had been hit with a cyberattack preventing some users from accessing the site on March 10.

He said in a March 10 interview with Fox Business’s Larry Kudlow he had a rough idea of where the IP address of the hackers originated. 

“We’re not sure exactly what happened but there was a massive cyberattack to try and bring down the X system with IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area.”

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It comes amid violence at Tesla facilities around the US as part of a broader “Take down Tesla” movement protesting Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is taking the axe to many government departments. 

Musk told Kudlow that regardless of the protests, he still thinks they are “doing the right thing here” because DOGE is cutting spending to initiatives “very few taxpayers would agree make sense.” 

Tesla stock is also suffering. In the most recent trading session, Tesla is down over 15% to $222 per share. In the after-hours session, it’s down a further 3% to $215, according to Google Finance. 

Tesla stock is down in its most recent trading session amid protests over Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Source: Google Finance

Overall, the stock has been up 24% over the past year; however, it’s still down from its all-time high of $480 set on Dec. 17, 2024.

This isn’t the first time X has suffered a DDoS attack. Last August, Musk claimed the platform was hit by hackers prior to his interview with then-presidential hopeful Donald Trump. 

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