Internet Provider For Ukraine’s Military Hit In ‘Most Severe’ Cyberattack Since Invasion

Ukraine says that one of its main internet service providers used by the country’s military was hit with a massive cyberattack on Monday as part of stepped up Russian efforts to unleash more in its tech arsenal to degrade Ukraine’s defense capabilities. 

Importantly the fresh attack was called among the worst Ukraine has suffered since the war’s start. The Wall Street Journal detailed that “The attack on Ukrtelecom PJSC was described by some experts as among the most harmful cyberattacks since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. About 3:30 p.m. ET on Monday, Ukrainian officials said that they had repelled the attack, and that the company could restore services, according to a statement from Ukraine’s State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection, which is responsible for cybersecurity in the country.”

Image: Ukraine’s State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection

A US-based internet monitor observed that Ukrtelecom’s services began gradually dropping to customers over a period of hours, before going completely dark by five hours into the attack, impacting both the military and customers across the country.

Ultimately the military’s access was less impacted given the company took steps to restrict private side services. NetBlocks said it impacted the whole country, confirming that connectivity collapse to 13% of pre-war levels, in what would make it among the most severe since the invasion began.

Russia has consistently denied that it’s behind a series of cyberattacks over the past months, which happened even before the Feb.24 invasion. 

⚠️ Confirmed: A major internet disruption has been registered across #Ukraine on national provider #Ukrtelecom; real-time network data show connectivity collapsing to 13% of pre-war levels; the provider reports issues assigning new sessions

📰 Background: https://t.co/S0qJQ7CbNv pic.twitter.com/BY2OOBK0m6

— NetBlocks (@netblocks) March 28, 2022

The State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection (SSSCIP) of Ukraine blamed “the enemy” for the Monday attack in a follow-up statement.

SSSCIP had said in a statement, “Today, the enemy launched a powerful cyberattack against Ukrtelecom ’s IT-infrastructure… In order to preserve its network infrastructure and to continue providing services to Ukraine’s Armed Forces and other military formations as well as to the customers, Ukrtelecom has temporarily limited providing its services to the majority of private users and business-clients.”