Photo: hacker attack disrupted Kyivstar services for the whole day (Getty Images) Author: Danila Kramarenko
The services of the largest Ukrainian operator Kyivstar are not available throughout the day. Officially, the network has been attacked by hackers, a case has been opened under eight charges, there are problems with the operation of ATMs and POS terminals, and in a number of cities the air raid warning system has gone down.
About the situation at the moment in the material of RBC-Ukraine.
When preparing the material, we used: a statement by the General Director of Kyivstar Alexander Komarov, a release from the Security Service of Ukraine, information from regional military administrations and local authorities, a statement from the Speaker of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Vladimir Fityo, comments from representatives of PrivatBank and Oschadbank.
Failure due to hacker attack. Kyivstar does not undertake to predict the timing
The cause of the large-scale failure was a powerful hacker attack on the Kyivstar infrastructure. Elimination of the consequences is still underway, and the company has not yet undertaken to predict how long it may take.
“The IT infrastructure has been partially destroyed. Therefore, we are still working on the issue of how long it will take to restore. Therefore, we have not made any statements yet,” said CEO Alexander Komarov during the telethon.
In addition, in a separate address, he hinted at a possible Russian trace in the attack on Kyivstar.
“The war with Russia has many dimensions, and one of them is in cyberspace,” Komarov added.
Law enforcement agencies and special government services have been involved to clarify all the circumstances. Management promises to provide compensation to subscribers who had no connection today.
The SBU opened a criminal case under 8 articles at once
The Security Service of Ukraine opened a criminal case. Moreover, under eight articles of the Criminal Code at once:
- Art. 361 (unauthorized interference in the operation of information (automated), electronic communication, information and communication systems, electronic communication networks);
- Art. 361-1 (creation for the purpose of illegal use, distribution or sale of malicious software or hardware, as well as their distribution or sale);
- Art. 110 (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine);
- Art. 111 (high treason);
- Art. 113 (sabotage);
- Art. 437 (planning, preparation, initiation and conduct of aggressive war);
- Art. 438 (violation of the laws and customs of war);
- Art. 255 (creation, management of a criminal community or criminal organization, as well as participation in it).
According to one version, Russian intelligence services may actually be behind the hacker attack. SBU cyber specialists are helping Kyivstar and coordinating efforts to restore communications as quickly as possible.
ATMs and terminals do not work
As PrivatBank press secretary Oleg Serga told RBC-Ukraine, the failure at Kyivstar affected the operation of some ATMs and self-service terminals.
“Due to difficulties in the work of the Kyivstar mobile operator, some POS terminals, ATMs and self-service terminals may be unstable or have no connection,” he noted.
According to him, the scale of the failure is as follows: ATM network – 5%, POS terminals – up to 30%.
Oschadbank is experiencing similar problems. The press service of RBC-Ukraine Bank reported that a small part of ATMs, POS terminals and information and payment terminals are not working. A full resumption of work will take place after the consequences of the failure at Kyivstar are eliminated.
How about communications at the front?
The head of the public relations service of the Ground Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Vladimir Fityo, noted that a different type of communication is used at the front, and problems with Kyivstar did not affect it.
“At the moment, this has no impact on the situation, on the actions of military personnel absolutely. In principle, for civilians this may bring inconvenience, but for military personnel it does not matter at all,” he added.
Vodafone and lifecell warn of possible problems
The operator lifecell talks about a large increase in calls to the call center, social networks and through other communication channels. The network is stable, but some difficulties may arise.
In particular, with account replenishment, activation of new subscribers, operation of the website and My lifecell application.
Vodafone also warns of possible closed-loop limitations. However, all services work stably, as does the network as a whole.
Where are the problems with the air raid warning system?
- Sumy
As stated in the Sumy City Council, the air raid warning system is temporarily not working in the territory of the territorial community.
“While the mobile operator’s specialists are eliminating technical faults, notification of the community during an air raid will be carried out by patrol police and the State Emergency Service,” the city council added.
- Kyiv
Unlike Sumy, the failure in Kyivstar did not turn off the system in the capital of Ukraine. City officials say that upgrading some of the equipment allows air raid alerts to be issued even when there is no power.
However, in those places where old elements operate, in the absence of light, the patrol police will notify the air raid alarm through loudspeakers. The Kiev Metro accepts fares as usual.
- Kyiv region
The head of the regional military administration, Ruslan Kravchenko, warned of problems with notification in Bucha, Irpen, Vishnevoy, Berezan, Skvir, Rzhishchev, Tarashcha, Volodarka and the Gorsk territorial community.
In addition, there are spot outages in Boryspil and in 75 other settlements. There, the air raid alarm will be duplicated by another warning system. In particular, using loudspeakers.
- Kharkiv
The sirens here are not working partly due to technical work. Local residents are advised to use the Air Raid app.
- Dnieper
The air raid warning system does not work in Dnepr. You can find out about the start or end time in the official Telegram or Viber channel of the Dnieper City Council. The notification is duplicated on radio and TV.
- Lviv
The failure in Kyivstar did not affect the operation of the warning system. However, residents were warned that if the notification does not come through official channels, it will be repeated through loudspeakers on the street.
- Cherkasy and region
The situation with Kyivstar caused several problems in the Cherkasy region. As Igor Taburets, head of the OSA, said, most of the sirens in Cherkassy will not work. A weak signal may be in the area of the ChNU, regional hospital and railway station.
In addition, the system does not work in Uman. Here, air raid alerts will be announced through loudspeakers. The region also uses the broadcast message service of mobile operators. This means that subscribers will receive notifications on their smartphones with a loud sound if they are within range of any cell tower.
- Poltava region
Here the notification works as usual, since it has a high degree of autonomy, protection and reliability. At the same time, street lighting will not work in Lubny. Earlier, RBC-Ukraine wrote that in many cities they could not turn off street lights remotely, since the system is controlled via GSM modems with Kyivstar SIM cards.
- Kirovograd region
There are no problems with air raid alerts.
- Ivano-Frankivsk region
According to the head of the OVA, Svetlana Onischuk, warning systems do not work in three settlements. Namely in Starye Bogorodchany, as well as the villages of Broshnev-Osada and Kadobna (Broshnev-Osada community).
Community chairmen should take care of the notification. The air raid alert is also reported on local radio and TV. If the Internet is available, a notification is sent to the Air Raid application.
How to call the police and rescuers via instant messengers?
If there is no connection and you urgently need to contact your family or call emergency services, you can contact the nearest police department or fire and rescue department. The Ministry of Internal Affairs also published reserve numbers for police and rescuers, to which the most popular instant messengers are linked.
- Kiev: +380634458664 (police); +380996088672 (State Emergency Service)
- Vinnytsia region: +380677185496 (police); +380639672336 (State Emergency Service)
- Volyn region: +380952950433 (police); +380504001186 (State Emergency Service)
- Dnepropetrovsk region: +380504716254 (police); +380504716253 (police); +380504716252 (police); +380636350250 (State Emergency Service)
- Donetsk region: +380506683170 (police); +380504940112 (State Emergency Service)
- Zhytomyr region: +380674112270 (police); +380930583696 (State Emergency Service)
- Transcarpathian region: +380671038494 (police); +380682407105 (police); +380676737082 (police); +380933234031 (State Emergency Service)
- Zaporozhye region: +380504529195 (police); +380933121101 (State Emergency Service)
- Ivano-Frankivsk region: +380673450015 (police); +380995172533 (police); +380995172498 (police); +380951016112 (State Emergency Service)
- Kiev region: +380664122099 (police); +380996406572 (State Emergency Service)
- Kirovograd region: +380671911036 (police); +380671409292 (police); +380507444880 (police); +380990978934 (State Emergency Service)
- Lugansk region: +380935076283 (police); +380933771748 (State Emergency Service)
- Lviv region: +380989579718 (police); +380680205581 (police); +380934225845 (police); +380995218220 (State Emergency Service)
- Nikolaev region: +380675432858 (police); +380675028909 (police); +380675346783 (police); +380635924087 (State Emergency Service)
- Odessa region: +380677639802 (police); +380503903152 (State Emergency Service)
- Poltava region: +380954805415 (police); +380503216031 (police); +380500701127 (police); +380507848128 (State Emergency Service)
- Rivne region: +380505499123 (police); +380937007759 (State Emergency Service)
- Sumy region: +380997143446 (police); +380935165474 (State Emergency Service)
- Ternopil region: +380676736569 (police); +380664336604 (State Emergency Service)
- Kharkov region: +380951300336 (police); +380957042322 (police); +380632154684 (police); +380502868101 (State Emergency Service)
- Kherson region: +380675502274 (police); +380502109253 (State Emergency Service)
- Khmelnitsky region: +380676723516 (police); +380673800155 (police); +380999383978 (State Emergency Service)
- Cherkasy region: +380673801414 (police); +380673814221 (police); +380639775337 (State Emergency Service)
- Chernihiv region: +380992001798 (police); +380662934823 (police); +380662934820 (police); +380504400180 (State Emergency Service)
- Chernivtsi region: +380671816525 (police); +380673128524 (police); +380662296368 (State Emergency Service)
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