British Royal Website Faces Denial of Service Attack

The official royal website, Royal.uk, experienced a significant disruption when it was targeted by a denial of service attack. This incident, which occurred on 30 September morning, left the website inaccessible for approximately 90 minutes, starting at 10 a.m.

A cyberattack, as explained, involves overwhelming a website with excessive traffic, rendering it temporarily non-functional. It’s important to note that such an attack is distinct from hacking, as it does not entail unauthorised access or compromise of the website’s content or systems.

The royal website’s security measures proved robust, preventing any unauthorised access or data breaches during the incident. As of now, the site is back up and running as usual, although it appears to have implemented additional security checks for visitors, as indicated by a message displayed before entry is granted.

The royal website serves as the primary source for updates and information related to King Charles, Queen Camilla, and their family, offering valuable insights into royal activities, historical details about royal residences, and art-related content.

It remains unclear who perpetrated the attack. Despite initial claims by a Russian hacker group called Killnet on their Telegram channel, there is no confirmation of their involvement. This incident raises concerns about cybersecurity in the wake of previous events.

Back in August, British intelligence services discovered evidence linking a cyber attack on the electoral commission in 2021 to Russian entities. This breach exposed the data of 40 million UK voters and went undetected until October 2022, over a year after it occurred. Experts such as former GCHQ director Sir David Omand and former head of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove have expressed suspicions regarding Russian involvement, given the country’s history of interfering in democratic elections, including the 2016 US election, the French election, the German election, and even the UK’s own 2019 election.

The attack on the royal website serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges posed by cyber threats to democracies and the importance of maintaining robust cybersecurity measures in today’s digital age.