Cyberattacks take many different forms, from PayPal scam campaigns to infostealer malware, but distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks can cause widespread disruption—especially when the target is a high-profile platform like Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter).
On March 10, X suffered multiple outages, leading Musk to attribute the incident to a “massive cyberattack,” speculating that either a “large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.” Now, a new prime suspect has emerged as the pro-Palestinian hacktivist collective known as Dark Storm has claimed responsibility for taking the platform offline.
Who Is Dark Storm?
Dark Storm is a relatively new but increasingly active cyber threat group that first emerged in 2023. The collective has carried out large-scale DDoS campaigns and ransomware attacks targeting NATO countries, Israel, and the U.S. Their tactics bear a striking resemblance to those used by KillNet, a Russia-linked group with a history of attacking Western targets and organizations supporting Ukraine.
The connection between Dark Storm and Musk’s statement that the attack had been traced to “IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area” remains unclear. However, given KillNet’s past operations and Dark Storm’s rise, there may be deeper geopolitical ties at play.
Dark Storm's Claim and Methods
Dark Storm publicly took credit for the attack on its Telegram channel, boasting, “Twitter has been taken offline by Dark Storm Team.” Notably, the group referred to X by its former name, potentially as a sign of defiance toward Musk. To validate their claims, Dark Storm posted screenshots from Check Host, a tool commonly used by DDoS groups to showcase real-time service outages across global servers.
The Cybersecurity Community Responds
Oded Vanunu, chief technologist and head of product vulnerability at Check Point, emphasized the gravity of the attack: “The resurgence of Dark Storm Team highlights the growing cyber threat against major online platforms and critical infrastructure. For users, this means potential service disruptions, downtime, and limited access to essential websites and apps.”
The attack underscores the evolving landscape of cyber threats, where politically motivated hacktivist groups increasingly disrupt major online services. As DDoS attacks become more sophisticated, companies like X must continuously adapt their cybersecurity defenses to mitigate risks and ensure platform stability.
For now, the full extent of the damage remains uncertain, but this latest incident reinforces the pressing need for heightened vigilance in the digital age.
