Ukraine: Kyivstar mobile communications remain disrupted nationwide Dec. 13 following cyberattack /update 1

Kyivstar technicians are continuing work to restore the telecom company's mobile communications on Dec. 13 after a major cyberattack damaged telecommunications infrastructure and forced it to shut down mobile, landline, and internet services nationwide on Dec. 12. Fixed-line internet services were partially restored late Dec. 12; however, intermittent disruptions remain likely. Mobile customers remain unable to access mobile communication services and Kyivstar's official website is down. Customers can also not use national roaming. Due to increased demand, the Vodafone and Lifecell mobile communication networks have also experienced disruptions. Kyivstar states services will gradually be restored through Dec 13; however, lingering disruptions remain likely.

Kyivstar, which is Ukraine's largest telecommunications operator with approximately 25.4 million customers, first registered unusual network behavior consistent with a hacking attempt at 05:26 Dec. 12. While responsibility for the cyberattack remains unclear, two Russian hacking groups have claimed responsibility, Killnet and Solntsepek. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is investigating the incident, including the possibility that Russian security services were responsible.

The outage may cause disruptions to transport, medical, and administrative services. Additional attack-induced outages are possible. Around the same time as the Kyivstar attack, the Monobank financial institution was also subjected to a cyberattack; however, services were restored by 13:30 Dec. 13. It is unclear whether the two cyberattacks are related.