Ukraine’s largest mobile operator succumbs to major hacker attack
Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, suffered a major disruption, leaving all its subscribers without communication and internet access, prompting urgent inquiries into the nature and origins of the crippling attack.
Kyivstar abruptly stopped servicing its subscribers on the morning of Dec. 12 — mobile communication was down, internet access was unavailable, and the company’s website was non-functional.
The issue was significant enough that government authorities held a meeting, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said.
The problems with Kyivstar led to disruptions in the services of third-party providers.
Read also: Kyivstar network failure should be fixed today, says minister
As of September 2023, Kyivstar served over 24 million mobile communication subscribers and more than 1 million home internet subscribers. The company offers a range of services utilizing various mobile and fixed technologies, including 4G, Big Data, Cloud solutions, cybersecurity services, digital TV, and more.
In October, a court imposed an arrest on Kyivstar shares controlled by Russian-sanctioned oligarchs Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven, and Andrey Kosogov. Kyivstar’s sole shareholder is the Netherlands-registered VEON group. In late November, the President’s Office indicated a “high probability” of sanctions against Kyivstar with subsequent confiscation.
Kyivstar goes down
Initially, Kyivstar was brief about the situation. In the morning, the company reported a technical glitch that might affect communication and internet services for some subscribers.
“Company specialists are working to resolve the issue,” the official statement read.
Read also: Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo joins Kyivstar board
However, closer to noon, Kyivstar acknowledged a hacker attack.
“Kyivstar’s communication network fell victim to a powerful hacker attack, causing a technical failure that temporarily disrupted communication and internet services,” the company said in an official statement.
To document the circumstances and consequences of unlawful interference with Kyivstar’s network, the operator engaged law enforcement representatives and special state services, currently operating from the company’s office.
As of now, according to the press release, subscribers’ personal data remains uncompromised. Operator experts are working to eliminate the consequences of the hack for the swift restoration of communication and service provision.
“Kyivstar will undoubtedly compensate subscribers who had no communication or couldn’t use the operator’s services. We apologize to subscribers for the temporary inconvenience and appreciate your understanding,” the operator’s statement emphasized.
Why is national roaming inoperative?
In March of the previous year, Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation announced the creation of national roaming — Ukrainian operators would allow switching between networks to maintain connectivity.
However, in Kyivstar’s case, it did not work. Why?
Stanislav Prybytko, Director of the Mobile Communication Development Department at the Ministry of Digital Transformation, told NV Business that Kyivstar cannot transmit information about its subscribers to other operators due to a general technical failure. Thus, the communication issue affected other services like national roaming.
Read also: Kyivstar fallout – National roaming is down too, Digital Ministry to meet with all mobile operators
“After resolving the current issue, we will discuss with all mobile operators how to prevent similar situations and protect users from unexpected communication problems,” Prybytko said.
However, the national roaming service seems to work for other operators, such as Vodafone Ukraine, Victoria Ruban, Head of Public Relations at Vodafone Ukraine, told NV Business. Vodafone subscribers can register on another operator’s network, currently only Lifecell’s network.
“Probably, the problem is not on our side. The service is available; everything is fine; it all works,” Ruban stated.
The press service of Lifecell reported that “in the current situation, Kyivstar’s issue is not with the base stations but likely with the core of the network, so national roaming cannot function correctly.”
“We are aware of the situation with difficulties, and we make every effort for clients to feel confident in this situation. In the absence of mobile communication, clients can call support via Privat24 and also write in the online chat, for which only internet access is sufficient,” added the bank’s press service.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
