Dark Storm, a pro-Palestinian hacktivist group, claims responsibility for X cyberattack
A pro-Palestinian hacking group, Dark Storm, has claimed responsibility for a major cyberattack on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday (March 10), causing a global outage that impacted over 40,000 users.
The platform remained down for several hours before restoration. X CEO Elon Musk described the attack as a highly coordinated cyber assault.
“It was done with a lot of resources,” Musk said, suggesting that “either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.”
What is Dark Storm?
Dark Storm Team is a pro-Palestinian hacktivist group known for launching cyberattacks against governments, infrastructure, and organizations they perceive as Israel supporters.
Their tactics include:
- Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks
- Database breaches
- Targeting critical infrastructure and government websites
The group isn’t solely driven by ideology—it also sells cyberattack services for profit. Dark Storm offers DDoS attacks on websites—both secure and vulnerable—along with database breaches, according to their Telegram channel.
Dark Storm’s activities
Threats against NATO and allies
In February 2024, Dark Storm threatened cyberattacks on NATO countries, Israel, and nations supporting Israel, demonstrating their intent to disrupt critical services and government websites.
Collaboration with Pro-Russian entities
Reports indicate that Dark Storm collaborates with pro-Russian hacktivist groups, expanding their reach and operational capabilities. The group sells hacking tools and services through various underground networks.
Targeting US infrastructure
Dark Storm has previously targeted US infrastructure, including a DDoS attack on John F. Kennedy International Airport in October 2024. The attack was allegedly carried out due to the airport’s perceived support for Israel.
How did Dark Storm attack X?
Cybersecurity experts classified the X cyberattack as a multi-layered Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) assault.
- Massive fake traffic flood – Hackers overwhelmed X’s servers with an unmanageable number of requests, preventing users from accessing the platform.
- Use of a botnet – Attackers used hijacked devices, including personal computers, smart cameras, and routers, to sustain the server overload.
- Remote control – These compromised devices, controlled remotely, made the attack difficult to mitigate.
As of now, X has yet to confirm whether Dark Storm was directly responsible for the attack.