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Russia says DDoS Attack Disrupts Telegram, WhatsApp

Silhouettes of mobile users are seen next to logos of social media apps Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram projected on a screen in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. (Reuters)
Silhouettes of mobile users are seen next to logos of social media apps Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram projected on a screen in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. (Reuters)
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Russia says DDoS Attack Disrupts Telegram, WhatsApp

Silhouettes of mobile users are seen next to logos of social media apps Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram projected on a screen in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. (Reuters)
Silhouettes of mobile users are seen next to logos of social media apps Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram projected on a screen in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. (Reuters)

Russian users of Telegram and WhatsApp had trouble accessing the messaging apps on Wednesday due to disruption the state communications monitoring service said was caused by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.

The service said the attack had been repelled and that the messaging networks were working normally again. Russian media said other sites, including Wikipedia, Skype and the social media platform Discord had also been affected, Reuters reported.

"The disruption is related to a DDoS attack on Russian telecom operators," the service said in a statement, without saying who might have been responsible.

Wednesday's disruption to the messaging apps, which are widely popular in Russia, came weeks after Russian internet monitoring services reported a mass outage on the availability of video hosting site YouTube as Russian authorities step up criticism of the platform.

Hundreds of Russian users of Signal reported glitches with the secure messenger app earlier this month.

Russia began to block access to Telegram in 2018. The action interrupted many third-party services, but had little effect on the availability of Telegram there.

WhatsApp's parent company Meta Platforms Inc was branded an "extremist" organisation by Moscow in 2022 and other Meta services - Facebook and Instagram - are now banned in Russia, but can still be accessed using virtual private networks (VPNs).

 

 

 

 

 

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UK Watchdog Shuts Down Probes into Apple and Google App Stores 

3D printed logos of Apple and Google are pictured on a keyboard in front of binary code in this illustration taken September 24, 2021. (Reuters)
3D printed logos of Apple and Google are pictured on a keyboard in front of binary code in this illustration taken September 24, 2021. (Reuters)
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UK Watchdog Shuts Down Probes into Apple and Google App Stores 

3D printed logos of Apple and Google are pictured on a keyboard in front of binary code in this illustration taken September 24, 2021. (Reuters)
3D printed logos of Apple and Google are pictured on a keyboard in front of binary code in this illustration taken September 24, 2021. (Reuters)

Britain's competition watchdog has closed its existing investigations into Apple and Google's respective app stores, awaiting new laws governing digital markets.

The tech giants have faced scrutiny around the world over the dominance of their respective App Store and Google Play store platforms, which critics say impose unfair charges on app developers and limit competition.

In 2022, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published a market study of mobile ecosystems in Britain, which found Apple and Google held an effective monopoly over the distribution of apps in Britain.

The body subsequently launched parallel investigations into both companies for alleged anticompetitive behavior.

But in a statement published on Wednesday, the CMA said it had dropped both probes, pending the roll-out of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA), which is expected to come into force later this year.

"Once the new pro-competition digital markets regime comes into force, we’ll be able to consider applying those new powers to concerns we have already identified through our existing work," said Will Hayter, Executive Director for Digital Markets at the CMA.

A Google spokesperson said its Android operating system had always allowed flexibility and choice not found on other platforms, including multiple app stores.

"We have engaged with the CMA over the course of many months during their investigation. As part of this, we made a number of significant commitments to further broaden the billing options available to developers through Google Play," they said.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.