In case you’re having hassle accessing web sites for the Linux distribution Ubuntu, an ongoing DDoS assault is responsible.
On Friday, Ubuntu developer Canonical confirmed the DDoS, which includes hackers summoning a burst of web visitors to overwhelm and take down a web site or server. “Canonical’s net infrastructure is beneath a sustained, cross-border assault and we’re working to handle it,” it tweeted. “We are going to present extra data in our official channels as quickly as we’re capable of.”
The assault seems to have shut down entry to Canonical’s principal web site and the Ubuntu.com area, although PCMag was capable of load some associated pages. A professional-Iranian hacking group, the Islamic Cyber Resistance in Iraq, also referred to as the 313 Group, has claimed duty for the DDoS assault, which started on Thursday.
“The assault on all Ubuntu servers stays ongoing,” the group wrote on the chat app Telegram, whereas issuing an extortion demand. “As a reminder, our communication channels stay open for Ubuntu to contact us in order that we could agree on a ceasefire.” X seems to have suspended the group’s account since then.
Group 313 additionally claims to be utilizing a comparatively new DDoS-for-hire service known as Beamed to focus on as many as 14 Ubuntu-related domains. Since then, a number of Ubuntu customers have reported hassle updating their programs. The DDoS happens at an inconvenient time; Canonical issued an advisory a few newly disclosed high-severity Linux flaw, dubbed “Copyfail,” which may enable an area consumer to achieve root privileges on a Linux-based OS.
All Linux distributions printed since 2017 are affected, though the vulnerability doesn’t have an effect on PC customers as a lot as cloud suppliers that host a number of customers on a single Linux server, successfully sharing entry.
(Credit score: PCMag)
As a result of ongoing DDoS, Canonical’s weblog put up on Copyfail, with mitigations, has remained down, though customers can nonetheless entry it by way of the Web Archive. “Linux kernel packages which implement the proposed patch will likely be launched,” the corporate provides.
Advisable by Our Editors
The DDoS happens amid the continuing US-Iran battle, which has led to a rise in Iranian-linked hacking efforts, together with an assault that wiped units at a medical tools supplier, Stryker. The FBI later attributed the assault to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Safety. It is unclear if 313 Group is instantly tied to the Iranian authorities, however the hacktivist group has engaged in anti-Israel and anti-US rhetoric. That mentioned, Canoncial is a UK-based firm.
Group 313 additionally says it was behind DDoS assaults on eBay this previous weekend and the social media platform Bluesky earlier this month. EBay didn’t verify the DDoS, merely telling PCMag it was conscious of “intermittent technical points.” Nevertheless, Bluesky attributed its outage to a DDoS assault, which compelled workers to work by means of the evening to revive providers.
About Our Professional
Michael Kan
Principal Reporter
Expertise
I have been a journalist for over 15 years. I acquired my begin as a faculties and cities reporter in Kansas Metropolis and joined PCMag in 2017, the place I cowl satellite tv for pc web providers, cybersecurity, PC {hardware}, and extra. I am at present primarily based in San Francisco, however beforehand spent over 5 years in China, overlaying the nation’s know-how sector.
Since 2020, I’ve lined the launch and explosive development of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite tv for pc web service, writing 600+ tales on availability and have launches, but in addition the regulatory battles over the growth of satellite tv for pc constellations, fights with rival suppliers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the trouble to broaden into satellite-based cell service. I’ve combed by means of FCC filings for the most recent information and pushed to distant corners of California to check Starlink’s mobile service.
I additionally cowl cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC compelled Avast to pay customers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and promoting their private data to third-party purchasers, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I additionally cowl the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in entrance of a Greatest Purchase to get an RTX 3000. I am now following how the AI-driven reminiscence scarcity is impacting the whole client electronics market. I am at all times desirous to be taught extra, so please leap within the feedback with suggestions and ship me ideas.
Learn Full Bio
