United News of Bangladesh

Following widespread outages on Monday that prevented thousands of users from accessing X, Elon Musk said that the social media platform was under a "massive cyberattack." “We face attacks daily, but this one was executed with substantial resources,” Musk stated in a post. “Either a large, coordinated group and/or a nation is involved. Tracing …” Musk clashes with Polish FM over Starlink in Ukraine; calls him ‘small man’ Later that day, during an appearance on Fox Business Network’s Kudlow, Musk mentioned that the attackers’ “IP addresses originated in the Ukraine region,” though he did not elaborate on the implications. However, cybersecurity experts quickly noted that this does not necessarily indicate that Ukraine was the source of the attack. Security researcher Kevin Beaumont wrote on Bluesky that Musk's statement lacked a crucial detail—"the IPs actually came from all over the world, not just Ukraine.” Beaumont identified the attack as a Mirai variant botnet, comprising compromised cameras. While he could not determine who was responsible, he remarked that it “smells of APTs—advanced persistent teenagers.” Allan Liska from cybersecurity firm Recorded Future further explained that even if “every IP address that targeted Twitter today came from Ukraine (which is unlikely), they were most likely compromised devices controlled by a botnet run by an unknown third party, which could be operating from anywhere.” Reports of outages surged at 6 a.m. Eastern Time and again at 10 a.m., with over 40,000 users unable to access X, according to tracking website Downdetector.com. By the afternoon, the number of complaints had declined to the low thousands. A prolonged disruption lasting at least an hour began at noon, primarily affecting the U.S. coastal regions. Downdetector.com reported that 56% of the reported issues were related to the X app, while 33% were linked to the website. Nissan tests driverless cars on busy Japan city streets Without access to X’s internal technical data, verifying Musk’s claims is impossible, and the probability of the company releasing such information is “pretty low,” according to Nicholas Reese, an adjunct instructor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and an expert in cyber operations. Reese suggested that it was unlikely a nation-state was behind the attack, given the relatively short duration of the outages—unless it was intended as a precursor to something more significant. “There are essentially two types of cyberattacks—some are meant to be highly visible, while others are designed to be stealthy,” he explained. “The most valuable attacks tend to be the quiet ones. This incident was clearly meant to be noticed, which almost certainly rules out state actors. The benefit they would gain from such an attack is minimal.” Reese also speculated that a group may have intended to make a statement by disrupting X but noted that a temporary outage “doesn’t seem like much of a statement.” “It only becomes meaningful if it’s followed by further action, which I wouldn’t dismiss at this stage,” he added. In March 2023, when the platform was still known as Twitter, it suffered a series of technical glitches for over an hour, causing broken links, login failures, and image-loading issues. Meanwhile, “X outage” was trending on rival platform Bluesky, with users welcoming newcomers and encouraging them to stay. Musk, who acquired the platform in 2022, is also Tesla’s CEO. While overseeing X, he maintains access to U.S. government data systems—frequently sporting a T-shirt that reads “tech support.”

Musk asserted on X that Ukraine’s entire frontline would collapse without Starlink. Sikorski countered, stating that Poland funds the service in Ukraine and warned that any threat to shut it down would prompt a search for an alternative provider. Rubio dismissed Sikorski’s remarks, urging him to be grateful. Musk went further, calling Sikorski a “small man.” The argument ended after Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk urged allies to treat weaker partners with respect rather than arrogance. Starlink, a SpaceX initiative, has been crucial for Ukraine’s military communications since the Russian invasion in February 2022. The system, used extensively by Ukrainian forces, includes tens of thousands of terminals, with up to 500 purchased by the U.S. Department of Defense in 2023. The exchange began when Musk described Starlink as the "backbone of the Ukrainian army," claiming that without it, Ukraine’s frontline would collapse. Sikorski responded that Poland’s Ministry of Digitization funds the service at an annual cost of approximately $50 million. He also criticized the ethics of threatening a country under attack and warned that Poland would seek alternative providers if SpaceX proved unreliable. Elon Musk and Marco Rubio fight in White House cabinet meeting Rubio refuted Sikorski’s claims, insisting no one had threatened to cut Ukraine off from Starlink. He added that Ukraine would have already lost the war without the system, with Russian forces potentially reaching Poland’s border. Musk then directly insulted Sikorski, stating, “Be quiet, small man. You pay a tiny fraction of the cost. And there is no substitute for Starlink.” Source: BBC

State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad A. Arafat has voiced concerns over the actions of police during peaceful demonstrations at various US universities, describing the use of force as “disproportionate” and “inappropriate.” These protests, primarily led by students and faculty members, were organised to support Palestinian rights. “The rallies are mostly being conducted peacefully; there hasn't been any violence, arson, or killing of cops, children, or women, unlike what the BNP-Jamaat arsonists did in Bangladesh,” Arafat stated in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The protests have taken place across numerous prestigious US college campuses, with participants advocating for the freedom of the Palestinian people. Arafat emphasised the peaceful nature of these demonstrations, highlighting the absence of violence and arson, which are often associated with protests elsewhere. Columbia University students vow to continue anti-war protest amid standoff with administrators. “It’s only some students and professors who are protesting against what they believe is wrong. There was no sign of violence or arson,” Arafat reiterated. Despite the peaceful conduct of the protesters, the response by law enforcement has been notably aggressive, according to Arafat. The number of police forces seen to contain the people shows no respect for protests by civilians, he observed. Reflecting on how such situations are handled in Bangladesh, Arafat speculated on the reaction of the US administration to similar circumstances. “I wonder what the US administration would do in the face of BNP-Jamaat violence and arson in the name of the so-called protest that they displayed a few months ago to impede the election and obstruct the democratic process in Bangladesh,” the state minister said. Bangladesh always stands by people of Palestine: Environment Minister Arafat condemned violence, stating, “I strongly believe that there is no place for violence in democracy.” He also shared a distressing account of a university professor who, despite her academic credentials from the University of California, Berkeley, was mistreated by police. “Unlike the BNP-Jamaat terrorists in Bangladesh, she did not seem like an extremist, getting herself indulging in violence or arson,” he explained. The professor was reportedly verbally abused and violently arrested. Arafat concluded by affirming the fundamental democratic rights to assembly and protest, which he argued should be respected universally: “The right to assembly and the right to protest need to be respected in all democracies.” Israel-Hamas war protesters and police clash on Texas campus, Columbia University begins suspensions