Russian hackers claim responsibility for cyberattack on Kyivstar

A group of Russian hackers has announced their involvement in the cyberattack that destroyed the network infrastructure of Ukrainian communications operator Kyivstar. The mobile operator, together with the Security Service of Ukraine, continues to work to restore services.

Source: Security Service of Ukraine

Quote: "Responsibility for the attack has already been claimed by one of the Russian sham hacker groups (according to Russian media reports, its name is Solntsepek – ed.). It is a hacker unit of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, known as the GRU, which thus publicly legalises the results of its criminal activities.

The Security Service of Ukraine continues to document the Russian cyberattack on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure as another Russian war crime."

Details: It is noted that cyber specialists of the Security Service of Ukraine and Kyivstar engineers, in cooperation with other government bodies, continue to work on restoring the network after yesterday's hacker attack.

According to early estimates, the fixed-line internet for households is planned to be restored on 13 December, and mobile and internet services to be launched on the same day.

It is noted that Kyivstar's digital infrastructure has been critically damaged, so it will take time to restore all services in compliance with the necessary security protocols.

Background:

• A large-scale technical failure occurred in the Kyivstar network on the morning of 12 December. Communication services and the Internet may be unavailable to some subscribers. The failure in the operator's network also affected national roaming.
• The mobile operator confirmed that a powerful hacker attack was the cause of the large-scale disruption on the morning of 12 December, but assured customers that their personal data is safe.
• Oleksandr Komarov, Director General of Kyivstar, said it was unclear when services would be up and running again.
• Internal Minister Ihor Klymenko said that Kyivstar subscribers who are out of range can ask law enforcement for help.
• The Security Service of Ukraine opened a criminal investigation into the cyberattack on Kyivstar. 

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