One of the things that many people look for when they use a messaging app is end-to-end encryption. They want to make sure that whatever they talk with their friends in the app won’t get leaked out in public. This is why only a handful of messaging apps manage to get the nod from its users. Telegram is one of the names that many rely on for this purpose.

Recently, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov sent out a tweet blaming China for a cyberattack. The cyberattack hit its users earlier in the week and caused the app to become unusable.

The CEO shares that there was a large Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on the app with IP addresses pointing to China. What these attacks did was sent out huge amounts of requests simultaneously, which caused the app to clog up. Many of the app’s legit subscribers were unable to use the service anymore.

In his tweet, Durov called the targeted attack “powerful”. The CEO also believed the attack could be related to the protests that were taking place in Hong Kong. The protest in question is due to a new law that allowed people in the city to be extradited to China. The executive believes the recent attack on Telegram coincided with previous DDoS attacks during protests in Hong Kong.

Due to its secure nature, many use Telegram to coordinate plans with other protestors. By launching a DDoS attack on Telegram, the protestors could be prevented from making such arrangements.

The Chinese government has since denied any responsibility for the DDoS attack on Telegram.