Before the cyberattack, enemy hackers had been in the system of the Kyivstar mobile operator since May 2023. This was stated by the head of cyber intelligence of the Security Service of Ukraine Ilya Vityuk in an interview with Reuters, UNN reports.
"So far, we can say with certainty that they have been in the system (Kyivstar - ed.) at least since May 2023," said Ilya Vitiuk and added: "I can't say now how long they have had... full access: probably at least since November.
Details
According to Vityuk, the attack on Kyivstar is "a great warning not only for Ukraine, but for the entire Western world to realize that no one is really untouchable.
The head of cyber intelligence also said he was "fairly confident" that it was carried out by Sandworm, a Russian military cyber warfare unit that has been linked to cyber attacks in Ukraine and other countries.
SBU investigators are still working to establish how Kyivstar was infiltrated or what type of software could have been used to hack in.
СБУ допомогла відбити нові кібератаки рф на "Київстар"04.01.24, 10:39
Recall
On December 12, a powerful hacker attack was carried out on the network of the mobile operator Kyivstar, which caused a technical failure.
However, on December 20, the company fully restored its services after the cyberattack, including international roaming, which was the last to be restored.