Hundreds of thousands of X users targeted in cyberattack, DOJ investigating

The US Justice Department is working with Elon Musk's X/Twitter to identify those behind an attempted password-recovery attack that targeted hundreds of thousands of users this week, US Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Wednesday.

Blanche said in a statement on X that "sophisticated cyber criminals" attempted the attack, but the platform was able to disrupt it.

He did not provide further details about the incident.

A password-recovery attack generally involves attempts to gain access to online accounts by exploiting the "forgot password" or account-recovery process.

X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Companies face rise in AI-driven cyberattacks

Companies around the world have been grappling with an increase in AI-driven cyberattacks and ransomware operations that can steal sensitive information and disrupt their operations.

The incident comes days after the US Justice Department announced an operation targeting QTFY, a Chinese cyberespionage platform.

The department said the US Senate, Federal Reserve, NASA, and other organizations were among those targeted by the platform.

White House moves to address AI cyber threats

The White House said in July that it was launching a coordination group bringing together AI developers and critical infrastructure operators to share information about cybersecurity vulnerabilities identified by AI systems.