The primary cellular network of Ukraine, Kyivstar, announced it has been subjected to a significant cyber intrusion attempt. This attack has caused customers to suffer loss of phone and internet services, and even disrupted the functioning of air raid sirens in one city, with the implication that Russia could be to blame as suggested by Kyivstar’s CEO. Russia is yet to make any remarks regarding the issue while investigations by Ukrainian security services are underway.
Kyivstar boasts a significant customer base with around 24 million mobile and one million broadband users. The situation became critical on Tuesday morning when individuals and businesses started losing network services.
The resulting disruptions also incurred malfunctions in air raid sirens in Sumy, a city in North-East Ukraine. Military officials in the region declared their plan to dispatch police and emergency services to alert citizens about potential missile or drone attacks.
PrivatBank, Ukraine’s biggest bank, reported complications with cash machines, stating they were either “unstable,” not operational, or had lost connection.
A thorough investigation has been initiated by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU). As part of their investigations, the SBU is considering the possibility of Russian special services being the perpetrator behind this cyberattack, as mentioned in an official statement.
Kyivstar had reported the involvement of law enforcement agencies in handling the “unlawful interference”. Oleksandr Komarov, the General Director of the company, likewise insinuated potential Russian involvement, stating: “The war with Russia has numerous facets, and cybersecurity is one of them.”
He further vowed to restore communication services as soon as possible while assuring compensation to affected customers. The company stressed that no personal data of any customers had been breached in the incident.
Recall that in February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine on a full scale, a war that is now in its second year. Veon, Kyivstar’s parent company based in the Netherlands, expressed its commitment to collaborate on “enhanced security practices” to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
In a separate incident, Ukraine’s military intelligence claimed successful execution of their cyber-attack on Russia’s federal tax system recently. They alleged to have infiltrated one of the highly guarded central servers of the federal tax service, according to a statement on Telegram, adding that Russia is still on the fourth day of trying to restore services.