Hackers used web-connected devices like cameras to stage attacks that are disrupting sites like Twitter across the U.S.

Hackers used web-connected devices like cameras to stage attacks that are disrupting sites like Twitter across the U.S.

Friday, October 21, 2016 6:58 PM EDT

Major websites were inaccessible to people across wide swaths of the United States on Friday after a company that manages crucial parts of the internet’s infrastructure said it was under attack.

Users reported sporadic problems reaching several websites, including Twitter, Netflix, Spotify, Airbnb, Reddit, Etsy, SoundCloud and The New York Times.

Dyn, whose servers monitor and reroute internet traffic, said it began experiencing what security experts called a distributed denial-of-service attack just after 7 a.m. Reports that many sites were inaccessible started on the East Coast, but spread westward as the day wore on.

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