Ello knocked off the internet in DDoS attack

Prospective Facebook challenger Ello was knocked off the internet for 25 minutes as a result of a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.

Ello’s official status page first noted the attack at 16.15 US EDT with an update stating: “We are undergoing a potential denial of service attack”.

The issue was resolved at 16.50 US EDT with an update stating “ips [sic] have been blocked”, presumably referring to IP addresses. According to The Register, no groups have claimed credit for the attack.

The invite-only social network has attracted attention after publishing a manifesto claiming to be a privacy-conscious alternative to Facebook and Twitter.

“Behind the scenes [social media sites] employ armies of ad salesmen and data miners to record every move you make. Data about you is then auctioned off to advertisers and data brokers. You’re the product that’s being bought and sold,” the company’s manifesto states.

However, critics point out the startup has already raised $US435,000 from venture capital firm FreshTracks Capital, which is likely to want to monetise its investment.