King Charles in Bordeaux, France on Sept. 22.Photo:UGO AMEZ/POOL/AFP via Getty

Royal Family’s Website Crashed Over the Weekend After Cyber Attack by Russian Hackers: Reports

UGO AMEZ/POOL/AFP via Getty

On Sunday, the royal family’sRoyal.UKwebsite was down for at least an hour,The TelegraphandABC Newsreported. According to the outlets, the pro-Russia hacktivist group Killnet has taken responsibility for the denial of service (DoS) attack. Buckingham Palace has not commented on the Sunday outage.

A royal source tells PEOPLE the site was down due to a denial of service attack — when websites are bombarded with traffic. The source adds there was no access to the palace systems or content. The Royal.UK site is the royal family’s main page on the web and it’s loaded with information, from biographies and theline of successionto the Court Circular and Royal Diary of future engagements.

DoS attacks flood hosts or networks with traffic to the point that they crash or cannot respond, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the Department of Homeland Securitystates.Websites, email and online accounts can all be targeted.

The main landing page of Royal.UK.Credit: royal.uk

Royal Family’s Website Crashed Over the Weekend After Cyber Attack by Russian Hackers: Reports

Credit: royal.uk

The royal family’s website was back up and running later on Sunday and was live on Monday, though additional security checks appear to be in place.

According toThe Telegraph,the leader of Killnet took responsibility for the DoS attack on Telegram, a social networking site. The “pro-Kremlin” group has previously been linked to DoS activity against countries supporting Ukraine amid theongoing Russian invasion, which began in February 2022, the outlet said.

Though the British royals traditionally avoid voicing political opinions, the family hasshared supportfor Ukraine amid the ongoing invasion. King Charles welcomed Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyyto Buckingham Palace for theirfirst meetingin February, and he spent time withUkrainian military recruitstraining with the British Army and international partner forces a few weeks later. In March,Prince Williammade asurprise tripto Poland to thank the people for their “humanity and hospitality” during the ongoing crisis in neighboring Ukraine.

King Charles speaks at the French Senate on Sept. 21.EMMANUEL DUNAND/POOL/AFP via Gett

Britain’s King Charles addresses Senators and members of the National Assembly at the French Senate,

EMMANUEL DUNAND/POOL/AFP via Gett

More recently, King Charles backed Ukraine in a historic speech at the French Senate during hisstate visit to FrancewithQueen Camillain late September. The King, 74, became the first member of the British royal family to address French parliamentarians from the Senate Chamber on Sept. 21. The wide-ranging remarks — delivered in both French and English — referred to the ongoing war with staunch support for Ukraine.

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On King Charles and Queen Camilla’s first day in France, the royal couple joined French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, for a wreath-laying and remembrance ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, an iconic Paris monument to the lives lost in the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars. There, the King poignantly rekindled the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

King Charles III performs the re-kindling of the eternal flame at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France on Sept. 20.Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images

King Charles III performs the re-kindling of the eternal flame using the Comité de la Flamme passed to him by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron during a ceremonial welcome at The Arc De Triomphe

Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images

source: people.com