Updated China's DeepSeek, which shook up American AI makers with the debut of its V3 and reasoning-capable R1 LLM families, has limited new signups to its web-based interface to its models due to what's said to be an ongoing cyberattack. "Due to large-scale malicious attacks on DeepSeek's services, we are temporarily limiting registrations to ensure continued service," the biz said in a note on its status page. "Existing users can log in as usual. Thanks for your understanding and support." The incident appears to have begun around 2133 China Standard Time (CST) on Monday, January 27, or around 0533 PST here on the US West Coast ‒ and was ongoing at the time this article was filed. Sign-ups and logins via Google's single-sign-on appeared to be working at 1030 PST. DeekSeek did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The outfit's AI app for iOS, DeepSeek – AI Assistant, is presently the top free download in Apple's US App store, just above OpenAI's ChatGPT. The Chinese AI firm released DeepSeek R1 as an open source LLM last week, following its parent V3 model, claiming reasoning capabilities that rival OpenAI's GPT-o1 in a number of benchmarks. Both can be used locally or via the web or DeepSeek's apps for free, or cloud API, though as stated above, signups for the web chatbot interface at least have been limited. Bear in mind, if you use R1 or V3 using DeepSeek's online services, such as the web or app, your conversations and data are stored in China. Having alleged...
DeepSeek limits new accounts amid cyberattack
The Register
·Thomas Claburn
·Published Jan 27, 2025
·Updated
Affected Software
3 affected components
DeepSeek DeepSeek V3
DeepSeek DeepSeek R1
DeepSeek DeepSeek – AI Assistant
Frequently Asked Questions
1
What is the main topic of this article?
The article discusses DeepSeek limiting new registrations due to an ongoing cyberattack.
2
What security implications are discussed in the article?
The article highlights potential vulnerabilities in DeepSeek's infrastructure as a result of the cyberattack.
3
What products or software are affected by the ongoing cyberattack?
The affected products include DeepSeek V3, DeepSeek R1, and DeepSeek AI Assistant.
4
Why has DeepSeek restricted new registrations?
DeepSeek has suspended new account registrations to mitigate risks during the ongoing cyberattack.
5
What does the cyberattack on DeepSeek indicate about the state of AI security?
The cyberattack suggests that AI platforms may be attractive targets for malicious actors and underscores the importance of robust security measures.