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12/22/2024 08:01:57 pm

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Facebook says Outage due to Tech Problem, not Hack Attack

Facebook has confirmed the server outage was due to a technical problem on its configuration system, taking the social network, Instagram and Tinder offline for a few hours.

It comes after infamous DDoS group Lizard Squad claimed responsibility for the Facebook outage, even though no hacking group has been able to take Facebook down for more than five minutes over the course of 10 years.

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"Earlier today many people had trouble accessing Facebook and Instagram. This was not the result of a third party attack but instead occurred after we introduced a change that affected our configuration systems. We moved quickly to fix the problem, and both services are back to 100% for everyone," Facebook said in a statement to USA Today.

The Facebook servers power a few big applications, including dating service Tinder, corporate messaging platforms Hipchat and AIM. All of these were taken offline during the outage, which lasted a few hours.

Facebook's last large outage in 2010 put the social network offline for 2.5 hours. This was a massive disruption in people's online lives and Facebook's online revenue.

Lizard Squad took to Twitter to boast of taking down Facebook, even if three of its apparent members that were recently arrested had connections to the group that took down Sony's PlayStation Network, Microsoft's Xbox Live, Amazon's Twitch.TV and OnLive.

Facebook's messaging service wasn't hit by the server troubles, potentially showing WhatsApp is off the grid when it comes to server sharing with Facebook.

The outage quickly took over the news on Twitter, dropping the "snow apocalypse" in New York as the top trending news. Facebook has since restored power, although some users are complaining old stories are showing in the News Feed.

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