On Sunday, The Malta Independent website was hit by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack carried out by an unknown source.

Three days after the first incident, this website continues to be a target of such an attack.

Our monitoring systems continue to detect an unusually large amount of traffic aimed at our servers. This surge is not coming from our usual readers but from multiple locations around the world.

The attackers are using a network of infected computers to overload our servers with excessive traffic, making it difficult for genuine visitors to access our site.

This incident is causing disruptions or inconvenience to your browsing experience.

Our technical team is working to reduce the impact and restore full service.

During this period, you may notice slower page loading or temporary downtime of certain features.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience and understanding.

What Is a DDoS Attack?

A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a deliberate attempt to interrupt the normal operation of a website, server, or network by overwhelming it with massive amounts of internet traffic.

These attacks rely on numerous compromised devices - ranging from personal computers to connected smart devices - to send large volumes of requests simultaneously.

In simple terms, a DDoS attack is like a sudden traffic jam blocking a highway, stopping regular vehicles from reaching their destination.