Anonymous Sudan, a group of hacktivists that started its operations in early 2023, owns the recent distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that shut down Cloudflare's website.
As a matter of fact, the gang takes responsibility for the incident. Cloudflare notes that no products or services are affected other than the website, per Bleeping Computer.
Mocking Cloudflare's Defenses
The hacktivist gang of hackers Anonymous Sudan claimed that they were the ones who took down the Cloudflare website, leading to a DDoS attack.
On their Telegram channel, Anonymous Sudan ridiculed Cloudflare, asserting that the attack lasted for an hour. The group questioned the efficacy of cloud-based security, emphasizing that if Cloudflare couldn't protect its main site, users should question their ability to provide adequate protection.
"To be clear, there was no Cloudflare breach. Cloudflare experienced a DDoS attack that caused intermittent connectivity issues to https://www.cloudflare.com for a few minutes. This DDoS attack did not affect any service or product capability that Cloudflare provides, and no customers were impacted by this incident. Cloudflare's website is deliberately hosted on separate infrastructure and cannot impact Cloudflare services. To be clear, our website is fully functional and up and running." a Cloudflare statement reads.
Anonymous Sudan: A Pro-Russian Connection?
While the group claims to target nations opposing Sudan, security researchers speculate it may be a subgroup of the pro-Russian threat entity Killnet.
“Anonymous Sudan” experts believe the group has strong links to Russia, and given Iran’s prominent role in directing anti-Israel activity to mark Jerusalem Day, many see its fingerprints behind the cyber-assault. https://t.co/2VKgL8tr3i @TimesofIsrael
— 780th Military Intelligence Brigade (Cyber) (@780thC) April 18, 2023
The collective's modus operandi involves utilizing multiple virtual private servers (VPS), rented cloud infrastructure, open proxies, and DDoS tools to orchestrate attacks, according to Security Affairs.
Related Article: New Breeds of Powerful DDoS Attacks Keep on Increasing in Numbers
Anonymous Sudan Also Attacked ChatGPT
In previous exploits, Anonymous Sudan targeted Microsoft, causing severe outages in services like Outlook email, OneDrive, and Azure cloud computing infrastructure. The group also claimed responsibility for stealing credentials from 30 million customer accounts.
In July, a DDoS attack against Telegram followed after the platform suspended the group's account.
Tech Times reported that the latest ChatGPT outage was allegedly caused by the same group of hackers. Anonymous Sudan claimed that it was them who launched the DDoS attack to OpenAI's AI chatbot.
Skynet and Godzilla Botnets
Anonymous Sudan asserts employing the Skynet and Godzilla botnets in recent DDoS attacks, causing disruptions to Microsoft, Telegram, and ChatGPT.
Skynet, active since 2012, has infected over a million devices globally. Godzilla, operational since 2021, not only executes large-scale DDoS attacks but also engages in credential theft and cryptocurrency mining, with an estimated 100,000 infected devices worldwide.
As Anonymous Sudan continues its cyber operations, the use of formidable botnets like Skynet and Godzilla raises concerns about the evolving landscape of cyber threats and the persistent challenges faced by major online platforms.
Earlier this November, even the news website of the Associated Press (AP) suffered from a DDoS attack. At that time, the AP website was inaccessible, and pages looked blank as you scrolled all the way to the bottom.
It should be noted that the mobile apps and AP's client delivery systems were unaffected by the cybersecurity incident.
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