Ukraine’s largest telecom operator shut down after cyberattack

Ukraine’s largest telecom operator, Kyivstar, got hit by a major cyberattack on Tuesday, leaving millions of people without cell service and internet. Kyivstar customers began complaining about network and internet outages in the early morning. The company later reported via Facebook that it got hit by a “powerful” cyberattack that led to a “large-scale technical failure.” Customers’ data hasn’t been compromised, the statement said. Kyivstar’s services in Ukraine were still down as of Tuesday afternoon. The company’s CEO, Oleksandr Komarov, said in a video statement that “it is still not completely clear” when the company will restore normal operations. Ukraine’s state cybersecurity agency (SSSCIP) told Recorded Future News that the “relevant services,” including Ukraine’s computer emergency response team (CERT-UA), are investigating the incident. Kyivstar didn’t reply to a request for comment. Its parent company, the Netherlands-based VEON, confirmed in a news release that the incident was a “hacker attack.” Sources within Kyivstar told several Ukrainian media outlets that hackers breached “a part of the operator’s internal systems” and that the company is working to “launch duplicate systems.”

The decision to completely shut down the Kyivstar system was made by security forces and the operator in order to “localize” the impact of the attack, one of the sources said. Many Ukrainians chose to switch mobile carriers on Tuesday, rather than wait for Kyivstar services to return. Ukraine has three major telecom operators: Kyivstar, with 24 million subscribers; Vodafone, with 19 million; and Lifecell with 8.5 million. Switching to another operator in Ukraine is easy — no contract is needed, and it’s relatively cheap (a prepaid SIM card costs about $5). In Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, many people were lining up on Tuesday to buy SIM cards from Vodafone and Lifecell to stay connected.

Full report : Ukraine’s largest telco Kyivstar says it’s mitigating a cyberattack that led to a “large-scale technical failure” denying millions internet and cell service.