Affiliated media: KazTAG, Online media

Incident date: December 28, 2023

Attack type:

• Cyber-, DDoS, and hacker attack on a media outlet

Who attacked: Unknown sources

Source: KazTAG

Location: Kazakhstan, Almaty, Almaty

Additional information:

On December 28, KazTAG decided to close access to the agency’s website kaztag.kz for all countries except Kazakhstan. This decision was made due to ongoing DDoS attacks, the majority of which comes from abroad. «We focus on both domestic and foreign audiences, but in this case we made a choice in favour of the audience inside Kazakhstan. Of course, this is a big loss for both us and our foreign readers. But the main task has been fulfilled — the working capacity of the website has been preserved. (...) Taking into account that the goal of the opponents of freedom of speech behind the attacks was to limit access to the materials of KazTAG just for the residents of Kazakhstan, we responsibly say that the attackers, who spend millions daily on attacks on our website, have already lost. KazTAG has been broadcasting freely within the country for several days now and will continue its work to provide our fellow citizens with relevant, objective and reliable information», — KazTAG said.