Shillong, September 2: Sudan-based hackers, identified as Anonymous Sudan, executed a cyber-attack on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, with the aim of pressuring Elon Musk to launch his more affordable Starlink internet service in Sudan.
This attack resulted in X being offline for over two hours, impacting thousands of users in more than a dozen countries.
The hacking group, Anonymous Sudan, made their message clear on Telegram: “Make our message reach to Elon Musk: ‘Open Starlink in Sudan’.”
Despite the widespread disruption, X did not publicly acknowledge the incident, and Elon Musk remained silent on the matter.
The cyber-attack employed a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) strategy, overwhelming X’s servers with a significant volume of traffic to render the platform inaccessible.
One member of the hacking group, known as Hofa, explained that the DDoS attack aimed to raise awareness about the ongoing conflict in Sudan, which has resulted in unreliable internet access in the region.
It’s worth noting that Anonymous Sudan has been linked to a Russian cyber-military unit, although the group has denied any association with Russia. In a previous incident, the group expressed support for the Russian government in efforts to quell the rebellion led by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner paramilitary group.
Anonymous Sudan has a history of causing disruptions in various countries, including France, Nigeria, Israel, and the United States.