Last night many users experienced problems with ChatGPT. The AI service went offline due to what may be a DDoS attack.
Anyone who wanted to ask a question to ChatGPT yesterday or today may have already noticed that there are problems going on. The AI services have been experiencing problems for about 24 hours now. As a result, the chatbot even went completely offline for 90 minutes. Although the chatbot is now accessible again, some users are still unable to ask their questions.
Around half past two last night, the problem reports about ChatGPT seem to be pouring in very quickly DownDetector. The problems appeared to have been largely resolved at 5am this morning, although some users continue to report difficulties. X is also receiving reports from users who cannot reach the chatbot. However, several users believe that the ChatGPT app does not appear to be affected: only the web version is not affected.
According to OpenAI itself, the network is experiencing an unusual amount of requests. However, it seems unlikely that millions of users simultaneously query ChatGPT. It therefore appears to be a Distributed Denial-of-Service attack, or DDoS. In the early morning, OpenAI announced that “work is being done to alleviate the problems”. The chat system now appears to be online again, although you can still encounter problems.
It is unlikely that ChatGPT will suddenly welcome millions of users, but not unthinkable. OpenAI launched earlier this week new functions for the chat system, which increased the use of the service. OpenAI itself neither confirmed nor denied that their systems are suffering a DDoS attack.
Whether it concerns a DDoS attack or massive use: one thing is certain, and that is that ChatGPT will have difficulty processing the volume of requests. Only when the company is able to do so will the problems disappear.
Anyone who has problems with the chatbot can always switch to another AI service: Google Bard and Microsoft’s Bing are two AI products that are almost identical in function to ChatGPT. However, the quality of the responses may vary.
Update 9/11/2023 3:09 PM: OpenAI has now announced that it is indeed a DDoS attack. TechCrunch could already see how hackers from Anonymous Sudan claimed credit for the attack. Despite the reference to Sudan, this hacker group is said to operate in the service of Russia.
