Phishing Attacks Attempting To Infiltrate A Company Network Have Tripled
The operator of Ukraine’s largest mobile phone network is fighting a two-front war: one on the ground and one in cyberspace.
Kyivstar serves around 26 million mobile customers in Ukraine and has been jumping from crisis to crisis since the Russian invasion on Feb. 24. Russian rockets and other physical attacks have taken out almost 10 percent of its base stations.
Phishing Attack Attempts On Company Network
Moreover, in areas that have been taken back from Russian occupation, about 30 percent of the company’s infrastructure — including phone towers and lines — has been damaged.
Meanwhile, phishing attacks attempting to infiltrate company networks have tripled, and attacks aimed at overwhelming company websites with online traffic have doubled, Komarov said.
The signaling channels that control the routing of phone calls have also been targeted by hackers attempting to steal user data. Smaller Ukrainian companies that supply Kyivstar with equipment have also been attacked by Russian hackers eager to find a weaker link that could lead to an attack on Kyivstar.
What we see is an increase in intensity and capacity — and partially creativity, all these three elements are in place, Komarov said. It’s an ongoing fight that shows the diligence required by Kyivstar to defend its critical systems from determined Russian attempts to impact and control communications in Ukraine.
It’s also a battle that the U.S. is watching for lessons to protect its vulnerable infrastructure from potential Russian cyberattacks.
Cyber Attack Attempt Intercepted
There have been a few exceptions: Some very important cell towers have been taken down, such as in the town of Mariupol soon after the invasion, and Mariupol is still under Russian occupation.
But service across the unoccupied and reclaimed regions of Ukraine has largely kept going. Notably, the company has accomplished this by instituting additional security measures (which he declined to detail) that have made it possible for employees to work from occupied territories.
And the cyber strikes haven’t caused any outages because the company’s dozens of IT professionals have been able to fend them off by putting in long hours and diligent monitoring despite increasingly dangerous conditions.
Ten percent of our employees are working very close to the conflict, Komarov said. Somehow it’s based on the willingness of this nation to win.
