Hacker Group Anonymous Sudan Targets X To Force Elon Musk's Hand On Starlink

A hacker group known as Anonymous Sudan has reportedly set its sights on Elon Musk‘s X, formerly Twitter, to pressurize the tech billionaire into introducing his Starlink satellite internet service to the war-torn nation. 

What Happened: Earlier this week, Anonymous Sudan, a hacktivist group, reportedly took X offline in over a dozen countries for more than two hours. Thousands of users were affected as the group flooded X’s servers with a massive traffic volume, employing relatively unsophisticated hacking techniques that are their signature move, reported BBC. 

The hackers’ message, posted on Telegram, was clear: “Make our message reach to Elon Musk: ‘Open Starlink in Sudan.'”

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This act aimed to draw attention to the dire internet conditions in Sudan, where civil war has frequently disrupted online services. Hofa, a member of the hacking group, explained that the distributed denial of service or DDoS attack was intended to shed light on this issue.

Crush, the group’s spokesperson, shared evidence of their location with BBC, including live location data on Telegram and pictures of Sudanese passports. 

Over the past months, Anonymous Sudan has disrupted numerous organizations and government web services in several countries, including France, Nigeria, Israel, and the U.S. 

Their attacks on infrastructure aim to send a message to governments and rulers, although they claim to have red lines to prevent harm to innocent citizens, the report noted. 

Despite their proclaimed mission to “defend the Truth, Islam, and Sudan,” Anonymous Sudan has also attempted extortion through Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and targeted websites they deem offensive. 

Why It’s Important: Anonymous Sudan has been previously accused of being a Russian cyber-military unit masquerading as hacktivists, largely due to their online support for President Vladimir Putin and shared motives with other Russian hacking groups. 

However, the group vehemently denies these allegations.

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