SBU: Russian hackers penetrated Kyivstar systems in May 2023
The cyberattack "completely destroyed the core of the telecom operator," a warning to the West
Russian hackers penetrated the systems of Ukraine's largest mobile operator Kyivstar at least in May 2023 and stayed inside for several months.
Source. Ilya Vityuk, head of the cybersecurity department of the Security Service of Ukraine, said this in an interview with Reuters.
According to him, the hacking of Kyivstar destroyed the core of the telecommunications giant and disrupted services for about 24 million users for several days, starting on December 12. The cyberattack was aimed at both intelligence gathering and psychological influence.
According to the head of the cybersecurity department, the Russian military spy unit Sandworm may be behind the hack. Vitiuk noted that the cyberattack should serve as a "big warning" to the West.
"This attack is a big signal, a big warning not only for Ukraine, but for the entire Western world, so that they realize that no one is untouchable," he said.
The attack destroyed almost everything, including thousands of virtual servers and PCs. Vityuk called this the first devastating cyberattack that "completely destroyed the core of a telecom operator."
According to the SBU, with this level of access, hackers could have stolen personal information, learned about the location of phones, intercepted SMS messages, and possibly stolen Telegram accounts, Vitiuk explained.
A Kyivstar spokesperson told the agency that the company is working closely with the SBU to investigate the attack and will take all necessary steps to eliminate future risks. According to the official statement, no facts of leakage of personal and subscriber data have been found.
The attack on Kyivstar caused Ukrainians to buy other SIM cards en masse, creating long queues, ATMs that use the operator's SIM cards to access the Internet stopped working, and air raid sirens did not function in some regions. Vitiuk said that the situation "did not have a strong impact on the detection of drones and missiles."
Background. As a reminder, Vitiuk noted that the Russians conducted repeated attacks on Kyivstar, but they were repelled.
If you have read this article to the end, we hope that means it was useful for you.
We work to ensure that our journalistic and analytical work is of high quality, and we strive to perform it as competently as possible. This also requires financial independence. Support us for only UAH 196 per month.
Become a Mind subscriber for just USD 5 per month and support the development of independent business journalism!
You can unsubscribe at any time in your LIQPAY account or by sending us an email: [email protected]
