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ChatGPT, OpenAI’s wildly popular AI chatbot, is now inaccessible to many users around the world. The cause appears to be a coordinated distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that occasionally overwhelms the servers. Although these types of attacks are incredibly disruptive, they are temporary. OpenAI engineers are working hard to mitigate the situation.
The DDoS attack on ChatGPT
According to OpenAI’s incident report page, the problems started around 07:00 UTC today, when a massive flood of junk traffic caused service outages and API errors.
This DDoS attack was reportedly claimed by the hacktivist group Anonymous Sudan, which said it launched the attack to protest ChatGPT’s “bias” against Palestine. However, the actual perpetrators have not yet been definitively identified.
By bombarding networks and servers with unwanted requests, DDoS attacks prevent legitimate user traffic from getting through. This leads to error messages “ChatGPT is at capacity” and total unavailability during peak overload.
OpenAI was able to partially mitigate the attack late morning UTC. But there are recurring waves of DDoS throughout the day, demonstrating the persistence of the perpetrators and the vulnerabilities of ChatGPT.
Why ChatGPT is susceptible to these attacks
As a free AI system suddenly hosting millions of users per day, ChatGPT has quickly amassed a huge demand that is putting pressure on its infrastructure. This limited capacity makes it an ideal DDoS target.
The extreme hype after the viral launch means that ChatGPT servers are constantly working towards their limits. With no bandwidth to spare, even a moderately sized DDoS attack can push systems over the edge.
OpenAI is also likely not sufficiently prepared for malicious attacks on the scale of ChatGPT. Protections such as anti-DDoS services take time to be fully deployed across global cloud networks.
Fortunately, the company has top cybersecurity talent who will apply the lessons learned from this incident to implement robust protections against future attacks.
Workarounds for users to access ChatGPT
When trying to use ChatGPT during the outages, there are a number of solutions users can try to regain access:
- Clear cookies/cache and try accessing via an incognito browser to work around any issues.
- Check the status page of DownDetector and OpenAI to confirm an outage rather than a local problem.
- Try connecting via a different network or VPN to bypass overloaded servers.
- Be patient and keep retrying every 20-30 minutes as capacity becomes available between attack waves.
- Use alternative AI chatbots like Claude or Character.ai from Anthropic, which stay online.
- Upgrade to ChatGPT Plus, which will receive priority access when service is restored.
However, despite these efforts, the lack of available server capacity means users may just have to wait.
When will ChatGPT be available to everyone again?
OpenAI has not yet provided an ETA for full resolution, but service will return sporadically throughout the day before new DDoS attacks cause new disruptions.
Every time engineers can block an attack vector or absorb traffic volumes, availability temporarily improves. But the persistence of the threat actors makes it a constant game of whack-a-mole.
Nevertheless, the team at OpenAI has proven that they can fend off DDoS once the holes in their armor are closed. It’s just a matter of time, resources and vigilance.
The company has promised continued updates via @OpenAI on Twitter. Users should check there or OpenAI’s status page for the latest information.
The challenges of scaling advanced AI
Taking a step back, these unfortunate attacks underscore the real-world growing pains associated with emerging AI systems becoming mainstream almost overnight.
Safely and reliably scaling disruptive innovations beyond small groups to global phenomena requires overcoming enormous infrastructure and security challenges.
However, OpenAI has shown great perseverance in developing ChatGPT’s underlying technology. That same tenacity will enable them to emerge from this incident better prepared for the service’s inevitable future.
The future remains bright for AI
Despite the frustrations of today’s extended outages, ChatGPT’s tremendous value proposition and future potential remain as strong as ever.
Once the immediate crisis stabilizes, OpenAI will invest heavily in strengthening defenses and expanding capacity to meet the incredible user demand. Over time, systems will become much more resilient.
And while adversaries may be trying to undermine AI progress right now, the technology’s benefits to humanity are too great to be deterred in the long term.
In fact, by overcoming setbacks like targeted attacks, developers like OpenAI only strengthen their resolve to deliver stable, secure AI that improves lives. Today’s setbacks ultimately pave the way for tomorrow’s progress.
So while users may need to be patient at the moment, ChatGPT’s remarkable journey is just beginning. This rising star of AI continues to shine brightly.
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