From uyghurtimes.com
Turkistan Times, 26 March 2026, WASHINGTON D.C. — In a significant escalation of digital hostility, the Uyghur Post and Uyghur Times have been hit by a large-scale, coordinated Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack, causing widespread disruption to independent news flow. The incident, which began on March 9, 2026, has now been formally reported to United States federal authorities.
According to a report by ANI, the attack involved an overwhelming surge of malicious traffic that rendered the Uyghur Post website intermittently unavailable for several days. Technical data cited by Uyghur Times (UT) revealed that at the peak of the assault, daily service requests skyrocketed to nearly 185.68 million. This massive volume of traffic triggered "connection timed out" errors for legitimate users, effectively paralyzing the servers’ ability to function.
Tracing the Digital Footprint
Technical investigations into the breach have uncovered a specific trail. As reported by Uyghur Times, a significant portion of the malicious traffic was traced back to a single IP address: 154.85.40.131. While IP tracing tools locate the physical source in Singapore, the network ownership is linked to Baidu Netcom Science and Technology Co. Ltd., a prominent Chinese technology firm.
However, Uyghur Times clarified that they have not independently confirmed the exact origin of the cyberattacks or whether the IP was spoofed. Despite this, cybersecurity specialists noted that the scale and infrastructure of the operation align with patterns previously observed in state-linked or state-supported cyber activities.
A Pattern of Transnational Repression
Tahir Imin, the founder of the Uyghur-language media network, described the incident as a deliberate attempt to stifle the voices of the diaspora. Speaking to Uyghur Times, Imin stated:
"This was not a random incident. It was deliberate, prolonged, and highly coordinated. The intention was clearly to silence independent Uyghur media."
Imin further emphasized that this is part of a long-standing campaign of transnational repression. ANI noted that this is far from the first time these outlets have been targeted; similar waves of attacks occurred in September 2019, as documented by the cybersecurity firm Volexity. Furthermore, Voice of America (VOA) previously highlighted that the Uyghur Times faced intense hacking attempts as early as January 2022, targeting its English and Chinese indices as well as its email servers.
Reporting to U.S. Authorities
In response to the severity of the disruption, the Uyghur Post team has officially filed reports with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) cybercrime division and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) under the Department of Homeland Security.
As of March 26, normal service is being gradually restored following the implementation of enhanced filtering and server protections. The incident underscores the growing digital threats faced by independent media reporting on sensitive human rights issues, highlighting an increasing reliance on cyber-warfare to disrupt information flow outside of state control.
