Destructive Russian hack of Ukraine’s top mobile network involved prolonged compromise

Ukraine's largest telecommunications firm Kyivstar was noted by Security Service of Ukraine Cyber Department Head Illia Vitiuk to have its systems infiltrated and completely accessed by Russian state-sponsored hackers between March and November before being subjected to a destructive attack last month, which decimated thousands of its virtual servers and PCs, Reuters reports. Attackers, who are suspected to be part of the Sandworm hacking operation that previously targeted Ukrainian organizations, were able to not only exfiltrate personal information but also facilitate phone location and SMS message interception and Telegram account theft, according to Vitiuk. Such an intrusion, which was followed by even more attacks after Kyivstar had its systems restored with the assistance of the SBU, should prompt increased vigilance among Western countries, said Vitiuk. "This attack is a big message, a big warning, not only to Ukraine, but for the whole Western world to understand that no one is actually untouchable," Vitiuk added.