Associated Press
U.S. officials have not determined who was behind an apparent cyberattack on the social media site X that limited access to the platform for thousands of users, according to a Trump administration official familiar with the ongoing investigation into the matter.
Monday’s outage was described as a cyberattack by the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly on the matter and spoke Tuesday on the condition of anonymity. The official added that the Republican administration takes all cyberattacks against American companies seriously but underscored that the U.S. government had not gleaned any specific intelligence about who might have been behind the attack.
The comments came after Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X and a top adviser to President Donald Trump, claimed in an appearance on Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow” show that the cyberattackers had “IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area” without going into detail on what that might mean.
Cybersecurity experts quickly pointed out, however, that this doesn’t necessarily mean that the attack originated in Ukraine.
Musk bought what was then Twitter in 2022 and serves as the CEO of Tesla, all while effectively running Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
His electric vehicle company has faced some headwinds as he’s become the face of Trump’s effort to dramatically shrink the size of the government through DOGE. Its stock plunged 15% on Monday, its biggest one-day loss since September 2020.
Analysts have said Musk’s shift to right-wing politics doesn’t appear to sit well with potential Tesla buyers, generally perceived to be wealthy, environmentally conscious liberals who have turned to electric vehicles in an attempt to reduce fossil fuel emissions.
Tesla has also been a target of protests and vandalism in the U.S. and elsewhere over Musk’s push for large-scale federal government layoffs, contract cancellations and other budget slashing moves.
Trump said on his social media platform that he’ll buy a Tesla on Tuesday to demonstrate “confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American.”
“Why should he be punished for putting his tremendous skills to work in order to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN???” Trump said.
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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
6 comments
Skeptic
March 11, 2025 at 7:51 pm
What was the USED Car Salesman-in-Chief doing today buying a NEW car from a failing South African car salesman?
ScienceBLVR
March 11, 2025 at 8:45 pm
U.S. officials have not determined who was behind an apparent cyberattack on the social media site X ……
Someone who still operates with a moral compass or at the very least, has chosen to voice his or her or their displeasure with Musk in general or his destruction of Twitter/X in particular.
Michael K
March 11, 2025 at 9:14 pm
Nothing like the co-presidents picking winners. But Americas biggest losers are the American people.
Team Shoreline
March 12, 2025 at 2:56 pm
This article brilliantly highlights the complexities of attributing cyberattacks, reminding us that a few IP addresses rarely tell the whole story. It’s a timely wake-up call that in our hyper-connected world, maintaining digital trust requires nuanced analysis and swift, coordinated responses beyond the headlines.
Skeptic
March 12, 2025 at 7:44 pm
I doubt this story will ever be updated, but could it e a false flag operator? musk was quick to point fingers, although this is not the first failure of his wretched platform (see, e.g., Governor D’s presidential kickoff).
cassandra was right
March 13, 2025 at 12:33 pm
Ha-Ha-Ha!!!
FP should have saved this one for April 1st! World’s richest man, chainsawing our government, wants taxpayers to fix his broken toy? Save tax dollars and our economy, libertarian! Hire a corporation! End government interference in the FREE MARKET!
Btw, someone at Citibank made sure Elon will never be the first person on earth to have a trillion dollars in his bank account!
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