Elon Musk Blames Ukraine for Cyberattack on X

Elon Musk

On Monday, Elon Musk revealed that his social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), was hit by a "massive cyberattack" that caused widespread outages, affecting tens of thousands of users globally.

Musk claimed that the attack originated from "IP addresses in the Ukraine area," sparking controversy and skepticism among cybersecurity experts and geopolitical observers.

Dark Storm Team Claims Responsbility

The disruption began early Monday, with users reporting issues accessing X starting at 5:30 AM ET. By 10:00 AM ET, over 40,000 users had logged complaints on Downdetector, a site that tracks outages. The outages persisted intermittently throughout the day before engineers restored stability by late afternoon.

Musk described the attack as a highly coordinated effort requiring significant resources, suggesting it was orchestrated by "either a large group or a nation-state."

In an interview with Fox Business Network, he linked the attack to Ukrainian IP addresses but admitted uncertainty about the details. He also shared on X that the scale of the attack indicated involvement beyond ordinary hackers.

Shortly after Musk's comments, a pro-Palestinian hacking group known as Dark Storm Team claimed responsibility for the attack in now-deleted Telegram posts. The group has a history of targeting organizations supporting Israel and NATO countries but denied any ties to Ukraine.

Cybersecurity analysts noted that Dark Storm Team's tactics align with distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, where botnets flood servers with fake traffic to overwhelm systems.

Experts have cast doubt on Musk's attribution of the attack to Ukraine. DDoS attacks typically involve global botnets, making it difficult to pinpoint their origin based solely on IP addresses. Some researchers suggested Musk's claims might oversimplify the attack's complexity or reflect geopolitical biases.

Geopolitical Context and Technical Analysis

The cyberattack occurred amidst strained U.S.-Ukraine relations. Recent diplomatic tensions between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump have fueled controversy. Trump accused Zelensky of warmongering and expelled him from the White House during a failed minerals deal negotiation. Musk has also been critical of Zelensky, labeling him "evil" and accusing him of perpetuating a "forever war" with Russia.

Musk’s Starlink satellite system has played a crucial role in Ukraine’s military communications during its ongoing conflict with Russia. Over the weekend, Musk claimed on X that Starlink was essential to Ukraine’s front-line operations, prompting backlash from Polish officials who fund part of the service.

Cybersecurity experts have been quick to challenge Musk's narrative. Analysts pointed out that attributing attacks based on IP addresses is unreliable since attackers often mask their true locations using global botnets or proxy servers. One researcher noted that Ukraine did not appear among the top 20 countries contributing traffic to the DDoS attack.

Dark Storm Team’s involvement also raises questions about Musk's claims. The group has no known connections to Ukraine and primarily targets entities aligned with Israel or NATO. Their motivation appears political but unrelated to Ukrainian interests.

Impact on X and Broader Implications

The attack disrupted X’s services for millions of users worldwide, highlighting vulnerabilities in major social media platforms under constant cyber threats. It also underscores how tech moguls like Musk can influence geopolitical narratives through public statements.

While X has resumed normal operations, the incident has sparked debates about cybersecurity accountability and Musk’s role in shaping public discourse amid ongoing global conflicts.