Bitcoin.org hit by DDoS attack as hackers demand 0.5 BTC ransom

On July 5, the Bitcoin.org site came under a DDoS attack. The attackers demanded payment of 0.5 BTC (over $17,600 at the time of writing). This was reported by the site’s operator, Cobra.

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https://t.co/OsFgRFRRZb getting hit with an absolutely massive DDoS attack and a ransom demand to send Bitcoin or they’ll continue.

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I don’t think I’ve been this offended in a while. Ungrateful scum.

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— Cøbra (@CobraBitcoin) July 5, 2021

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“This is a very powerful attack; it is hard to deal with. I don’t know how long we will be offline,” Cobra said.

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A DDoS attack is a coordinated attempt to overwhelm a website with useless traffic and take it offline.

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At the time of publication, the site was back online.

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“I didn’t expect to be insulted so quickly. Ungrateful scum,” added Cobra.

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In January, the self-proclaimed inventor of Bitcoin, Craig Wright, demanded that the white paper of the first cryptocurrency be removed, accusing them of copyright infringement.

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Cobra refused to comply with these demands on the grounds that the document carries an MIT license, which permits free distribution.

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Craig Wright filed a lawsuit against the site owner, and in late June the High Court of London ruled in his favour.

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In early July British IP addresses users lost the ability to download the official Bitcoin software from Bitcoin.org.

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