Thousands of X Users Experience Global Service Disruption Linked to Cyberattack

On Monday, X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, experienced a significant service disruption. Users worldwide reported issues multiple times throughout the day. In India, Downdetector recorded a peak of nearly 2,200 reports at 3:30 pm. Another surge occurred around 7:30 pm with 1,500 reports. By 10:28 pm, over 1,100 issues were flagged, and by 11:28 pm, 981 reports came from Indian users.

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Globally, the disruption's impact was more severe in the US and UK. Downdetector data revealed that 53% of the problems were linked to the website, while 41% concerned the app and 6% involved server connections. Users faced difficulties refreshing feeds and uploading posts, often encountering the message "Something went wrong, try reloading."

Service Disruption Details

The interruptions were not constant but fluctuated throughout Monday evening. Services appeared to be partially restored at times before being disrupted again. Downdetector's graph indicated that complaints subsided temporarily but resumed every few hours. The inconsistency in service left many users frustrated as they struggled to access the platform reliably.

Elon Musk addressed the situation on X late Monday. He stated, "There was still is a massive cyberattack against X. We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved. Tracing…," highlighting the severity of the attack.

The disruption affected users' ability to interact with the platform effectively. Many were unable to refresh their feeds or upload new content during these periods of instability. This led to widespread inconvenience as users relied on X for communication and updates.

While services remained patchy throughout Monday evening, efforts to restore full functionality continued. The incident underscored the challenges faced by platforms like X in maintaining uninterrupted service amidst potential cyber threats.