Following a massive DDoS attack that left much of the internet in a disarray throughout Friday, WikiLeaks has emerged as a voice crying out in the wilderness. In a message sent out via Twitter (one of the many internet sites affected by the attack on Dyn), WikiLeaks implored its “supporters” to stop attacking the web at large. “Mr. Assange is still alive and WikiLeaks is still publishing,” the site said in a tweet. “We ask supporters to stop taking down the U.S. internet. You proved your point.”
Mr. Assange is still alive and WikiLeaks is still publishing. We ask supporters to stop taking down the US internet. You proved your point. pic.twitter.com/XVch196xyL
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 21, 2016
The request comes after these Wikileaks fans claimed to be behind the cyberattacks on Dyn, which took down a number of internet services, including Reddit, Netflix, Spotify, Box, and more. Attacks began early Friday morning, and after a brief resolution, resumed again later in the afternoon. Users in both the U.S. and Europe were unable to access these sites as a result of the attacks.
Shortly after sending out its first tweet, WikiLeaks took to Twitter again, this time to state that, “The Obama Administration should not have attempted to misuse its instruments of state to stop criticism of its ruling party candidate.”
Thus far, officials still have not determined exactly who was behind the attacks, with Dyn’s chief strategy officer, Kyle York, telling Reuters, “The complexity of the attacks is what’s making it very challenging for us.”
That said, there’s been no shortage of parties willing to take responsibility — as Politico reports, both Anonymous and New World Hackers have said that their members were behind the attacks. In a series of direct messages on Twitter, two hackers who called themselves “Prophet” and “Zain” told the Associated Press, “We didn’t do this to attract federal agents, only test power.” All the same, it looks as though security experts are not convinced that those currently claiming credit actually had anything to do with the hacks.
