The leading Ukrainian telecommunications operator, Kyivstar, suffered a sneak attack, noting the presence of Russian hackers in its networks since May 2023. The damage caused is considerable.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is taking place in the air and on the ground, but it is also the scene of an intense cyber battle, which sees Moscow causing very significant damage to its enemy. After neutralizing several surveillance cameras in kyiv, spied on by Russia in recent days, the head of Ukrainian cyber espionage admitted that hackers had penetrated the system of the operator Kyivstar, the largest in the country.
A long-prepared cyberattack
The attack, first reported last month, was actually launched last spring. A group acting under the name Solntsepyok claimed responsibility for the malicious act and was recognized as having penetrated, in May 2023, the computer system of the giant Kyivstar. The hacker collective is affiliated with Russia and the Sandworm group, which has already caused heavy damage in Ukraine, with a strong appetite for espionage and data theft, particularly in the energy sector.
The head of the cybersecurity department of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Illia Vitiuk, was keen to emphasize the sophistication of the attack. He said the attackers had likely gained full access since November.
The attack was carefully prepared for months, devastating the very heart of the operator. Kyivstar, which was able to restore most of its operations, did not provide information on the method of intrusion of Russian hackers into its network.
Russian hackers led to the destruction of thousands of servers and computers
The authorities assure that at this stage, no personal data of subscribers has been compromised, although the cyberattack destroyed thousands of servers and computers of the company. While Kyivstar was initially reluctant to confirm the severity of the incident, the operator has restored operations but remains silent on the details of the compromise. The intrusion highlights the need for constant vigilance against state-sponsored cyber threats.
This revelation comes against the backdrop of the SBU recently discovering and neutralizing two online surveillance cameras hacked by Russian intelligence services. These cameras were used to spy on kyiv’s defense forces and critical infrastructure.
The continuing threat demonstrates the willingness of hostile actors to target various strategic sectors, underscoring the importance of national cybersecurity and Western cooperation. We have obviously not forgotten the cyberattack which struck Viasat in February 2023, hitting the KA-SAT satellite network and disrupting Ukrainian command and control. Now, it is Kyivstar’s turn to try to recover from this devastating attack.
Source : Reuters
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