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Major DDoS Attack Silences Uyghur Post, Traced to Chinese Tech Firm

The Uyghur Post website suffered a major distributed denial-of-service attack beginning March 9, causing repeated outages from a flood of nearly 185 million daily requests. Technical analysis traced a large share of the malicious traffic to a single IP address in Singapore, with network ownership linked to Chinese tech giant Baidu Netcom. Cybersecurity experts noted the attack's scale and coordination align with state-linked cyber operations, prompting the outlet to report the incident to the FBI and CISA. The founder described it as part of China's ongoing campaign of transnational repression targeting Uyghur media.

Key Points: DDoS Cyberattack on Uyghur Post Reported to FBI, CISA

  • Attack peaked at 185M daily requests
  • Traffic traced to IP in Singapore linked to Baidu
  • Reported to FBI and CISA cyber divisions
  • Called part of China's transnational repression campaign
2 min read

Major DDoS cyberattack disrupts Uyghur Post, incident reported to US authorities

Uyghur Post hit by massive DDoS attack, traffic traced to Baidu-linked IP. Incident reported to US authorities as alleged transnational repression.

"This was not a random incident. It was deliberate, prolonged, and highly coordinated. - Technical response team member"

Washington DC, March 26

A significant cyberattack aimed at Uyghur Post has been detected and reported to U.S. authorities, following several days of disruption caused by what experts have described as a large-scale, coordinated distributed denial-of-service attack, according to a report by Uyghur Times.

Starting March 9, Uyghur Post faced continuous and intense traffic flooding that made its website intermittently unavailable. Based on internal data and inputs from technical partners, daily service requests surged to nearly 185.68 million, overwhelming the servers and resulting in repeated outages.

At the height of the attack, users trying to access the website encountered "connection timed out" messages, indicating that the servers were unable to handle the volume of malicious traffic, the UT report noted.

Technical examination of the attack showed that a large share of the malicious traffic originated from a single IP address--154.85.40.131. IP tracing tools indicated that the source was located in Singapore, with network ownership linked to Baidu Netcom Science and Technology Co. Ltd., a major Chinese technology firm.

However, Uyghur Times stated that it has not independently confirmed the exact origin of the IP addresses or the cyberattacks.

Cybersecurity specialists involved in addressing the incident said that the scale, coordination, and infrastructure used in the attack align with patterns observed in earlier state-linked or state-supported cyber operations. The Uyghur Post team has officially reported the incident to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) cybercrime division, as well as to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) under the Department of Homeland Security, as cited in the UT report.

"This was not a random incident. It was deliberate, prolonged, and highly coordinated," a member of the technical response team said. "The intention was clearly to silence independent Uyghur media."

Tahir Imin, founder of the Uyghur-language media network, stated that this effort is part of China's long-running campaign of transnational repression targeting Uyghur media outlets, academics, and journalists. "This is not the first time that the group I work with or I have been targeted by the Chinese government," he said. Uyghur Times, along with other Uyghur websites, had also faced another wave of cyberattacks in September 2019, according to Volexity, as referenced in the UT report.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Very troubling news. The scale of the attack is massive - 185 million requests! It highlights how digital infrastructure is the new battleground. India should take note and strengthen its cyber defenses against such coordinated attacks.
R
Rohit P
The article mentions the IP is linked to a Chinese tech firm. Given the geopolitical tensions, it's easy to jump to conclusions. But the report itself says the origin isn't independently confirmed. We should be cautious about blaming a state without concrete proof.
S
Sarah B
As someone working in IT security in Bangalore, the technical details are alarming. A single IP generating that much malicious traffic suggests a powerful botnet. This isn't just a hacktivist job. The FBI's involvement shows how serious it is.
V
Vikram M
The attempt to silence minority voices is always wrong. However, as Indians, our primary concern must be our own national security and the information integrity within our borders. Let's not get overly involved in other nations' disputes.
K
Kavya N
It's a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities in our interconnected world. Whether it's this or fake news campaigns, digital platforms are being weaponized. We need stronger international cooperation on cybercrime, but that seems like a distant dream right now.

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