Ukraine has accused Russia’s secret service of orchestrating a large-scale cyber attack that severely disrupted services for Kyivstar, the country’s primary phone operator. The Ukrainian SBU security service has initiated a criminal investigation into the incident and dispatched agents to the company’s offices, news agency AFP reported. In a statement, the SBU pointed fingers at the special services of the Russian Federation, stating, “The special services of the Russian Federation may be behind this hacker attack.”
Kyivstar, serving 24.3 million customers, attributed the attack to the Russian invasion but did not provide specific details on the connection, as per AFP’s report. Oleksandr Komarov, Kyivstar’s general director, spoke on national television, stating, “This is a war, it takes place not only on the battlefield, it also takes place in virtual space, and unfortunately, we are affected as a result of this war.”
He added, “We see the main goal of this attack is the maximum possible destruction of the operator’s IT infrastructure. They partially achieved this goal. Our IT infrastructure was significantly damaged, access was limited, we could not counteract this virtually, so we physically disconnected Kyivstar from the network”, as quoted in the report.
However, Komarov reassured that efforts were underway to restore services.
On the same day, Ukraine’s military intelligence service, GUR, claimed that it hacked into the Russian tax system, terming it a “successful special operation.”
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Ukraine: Telecom Hack Affects Banking, Air Raid Alert In City
In a Facebook post, Kyivstar confirmed being “the target of a powerful hacker attack” that caused a technical failure, temporarily disrupting mobile communications and internet access. The company emphasised that consumer data remained uncompromised.
The SBU’s investigation involves eight articles of the criminal code, including treason, sabotage, creating malicious software, and unauthorised interference in communication networks. Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko reported “large-scale failures” in Kyivstar’s network, leaving “many subscribers” without service, AFP reported.
The impact extended beyond telecommunications, affecting various sectors relying on mobile roaming. Sumy, a northeastern city, reported temporary non-functionality of the air raid alert system due to the breakdown, the report mentioned.
The cyber attack also impacted other services and businesses in Ukraine, including disruptions in PrivatBank’s operations, as reported by bank spokesman Oleg Serga. Monobank, one of Ukraine’s prominent banks, revealed it had been targeted by a “massive DDoS attack,” according to co-founder Oleg Gorokhovsky, as per the report.
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