Following widespread outages on Elon Musk’s X social media platform on March 10, cybersecurity experts are working to determine the true source of the attack, Forbes reports.
Initially, Musk attributed the disruption to a “massive cyberattack” and suggested a “large, coordinated group and/or a country” was responsible. Now, a pro-Palestinian hacktivist collective known as Dark Storm has claimed responsibility, adding another layer of complexity to the investigation.
Dark Storm made its claim via Telegram, stating that it had successfully taken down X, referring to it by its former name, Twitter, as a possible act of defiance. The group also shared screenshots from Check Host, a tool often used by cybercriminals to demonstrate successful Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.
However, questions remain about Dark Storm’s actual involvement. The group is known for using tactics similar to KillNet, a Russia-linked cybercrime network that has previously targeted Western nations, Ukraine, and NATO allies. Notably, Musk mentioned in an interview with Fox Business Network that the attack had been traced to “IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area,” though experts caution that IP addresses alone are not definitive proof of origin.
Determining responsibility for cyberattacks is inherently difficult, especially in cases of DDoS attacks, which can be launched by various actors, including nation-states, hacktivist groups, or cybercriminal organizations for hire.
Chad Cragle, Chief Information Security Officer at Deepwatch, emphasized that IP tracing alone is insufficient to confirm the true source of the attack. J. Stephen Kowski, Field Chief Technology Officer at SlashNext, echoed this sentiment, stating that both the claims made by Dark Storm and the evidence from X remain limited.
Tom Parker, Chief Technology Officer at NetSPI, noted that the scale of the attack suggests a sophisticated threat actor, but whether this is a politically motivated group or a nation-state remains uncertain. He cautioned against drawing premature conclusions, warning that adversaries in the cyber realm are highly skilled at obscuring their tracks.
As the investigation continues, cybersecurity professionals stress the need for independent forensic analysis before assigning blame. While Dark Storm has openly claimed responsibility, experts warn against taking such declarations at face value.
For X users, the attack serves as a reminder of the growing cyber threats facing major online platforms. Whether this was an act of political protest, a coordinated state-sponsored attack, or a third party attempting to create confusion remains to be seen.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
