Tag Archive for: Cyberattack

Ukraine faces second day of huge phone and internet outage after suspected Russian cyberattack

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Ukraine on Wednesday entered the second day of limited communications after its largest mobile phone and internet provider was hit by a huge cyberattack, Ukrainian officials and the internet provider said Wednesday.

The company, Kyivstar, shut down all mobile and internet service Tuesday after experiencing what its CEO said was a Russian cyberattack.

The Kyivstar hack is one of the biggest cyberattacks on the civilian telecommunications industry in history, and one of the most influential of the Russia-Ukraine war. Kyivstar’s website is still inaccessible, but an archived version of it from November said it has more than 25 million customers nationwide, more than half the country’s population.

Kyivstar announced Wednesday it had begun to restore service, but Kentik, a company that tracks global internet connectivity, said Kyivstar was operating at a fraction of its normal traffic levels.

In addition to cutting off communications for millions of Ukrainians, the Kyivstar attack resulted in other critical services shutting down.

The head of Kyiv’s Regional Military Administration, Ruslan Kravchenko, said on Telegram that the outage disrupted air alert systems in multiple cities, forcing authorities to use backup alarms. Russia launched a missile attack Wednesday morning, Kyiv’s mayor said on his Telegram channel, resulting in 53 people being injured and 20 being hospitalized.

Ukraine’s largest bank, PrivatBank, announced that a lack of functioning internet connection had resulted in some ATMs and point-of-sale terminals not working.

In the city of Liviv, which uses internet-connected smart streetlights, the Kyivstar outage meant that the lights had to be disconnected manually, the City Council said on its website.

Ukrainian authorities, including communications officials and representatives from the Security Service of Ukraine, indicated in emailed statements Wednesday that the culprit was a unit within Russian military intelligence, the GRU, that Western governments and cybersecurity researchers have said is responsible for previous destructive attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Both the Security…

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Kyivstar restores mobile internet following cyberattack

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Kyivstar had managed to restore mobile internet connection throughout the country following a Russian cyberattack, the company announced on Dec. 15.

Ukraine’s leading phone provider was targeted by a massive cyberattack on Dec. 12, which caused internet and network outages across Ukraine, as well as issues with air raid alerts. Monobank, one of Ukraine’s largest banks, also reported a hack the same day.

“Some areas may still experience short-term communication problems. However, our specialists are working on solving them,” the company’s statement read.

Over 95% of mobile communication base stations have become operational again, according to the announcement.

Kyivstar continues working to restore text messaging and access to the mobile application.

“As soon as we know that stabilization measures have been successful and services are working at 100%, we will definitely let you know,” the company said.

According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), a Russian hacker group with ties to Russia’s military intelligence agency claimed responsibility for the attack.

Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov said that the hackers broke through the company’s cyber security through the compromised account of one of the company’s employees.

Kyivstar is Ukraine’s largest phone services provider, with over 24 million mobile customers and more than 1 million home internet customers as of September this year.

Read also: Massive cyberattack reported on Ukrainian bank, phone operator

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Cyberattack hits Kyiv, knocking out phone and internet service

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KYIV — A large-scale cyberattack hit Ukraine on Tuesday, crippling Kyivstar, the country’s largest mobile phone provider, and knocking out service to more than 24 million subscribers both in the war-ravaged country and abroad, where millions have fled Russia’s invasion.

In some parts of the country, the loss of mobile phone and internet service cut off early-warning air raid systems used to alert citizens of imminent Russian missile and drone strikes. The cyberstrike also shut down some bank machines.

Ukraine’s intelligence service, the SBU, said that it was investigating the possibility “that the special services of the Russian Federation may be behind this hacker attack.” In a news statement, the SBU said that it had opened criminal investigations into the incident, including charges of treason, sabotage, and “planning, preparation, unleashing and waging an aggressive war.”

The attack took place Tuesday morning in Ukraine, hours before President Volodymyr Zelensky was set in Washington to meet US lawmakers and President Biden in an urgent bid to drum up some $60 billion in crucially needed aid.

The hacking underscored the continuing threat to Ukraine’s statehood, as political infighting between Democrats and Republicans in Washington risks cutting off aid to Ukraine from its most important ally.

The war in Ukraine has combined elements of World War I-style trench warfare with 21st-century high-tech weaponry, including swarms of explosive drones, many controlled using live feeds over the internet. Russia has repeatedly sought to disrupt internet service in Ukraine, forcing the country’s military to rely heavily on Starlink, the satellite internet system operated by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX.

The attack raised the prospect that a large number of Ukrainians would not be able to use a smartphone application warning of air raid alerts, tools many depend on since street sirens are not always audible. The apps still work if telephones are connected to Wi-Fi.

Kyiv’s city administration said on Telegram that the cyberattack did “not affect the stability of the air alert system in the capital.”

Some regional officials said that early-warning air raid sirens were fully or…

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OpenAI Cyberattack Claimed By Anonymous Sudan

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The hacker group Anonymous Sudan has declared an explicit cyber assault on OpenAI, a prominent artificial intelligence research lab. In a Telegram post, the hacker collective shared details about the OpenAI Cyberattack, demanding the dismissal of Tal Broda, the Head of the Research Platform at OpenAI, accusing him of supporting genocide.

The hackers continue to pose a threat to ChatGPT, vowing to sustain their attacks until their demands are met, specifically regarding Tal Broda and alleged dehumanizing views on Palestinians.

Open AI Cyberattack

The Cyber Express Team initiated contact with OpenAI officials to verify the claims made by Anonymous Sudan. As of the time of reporting, no official response has been received from OpenAI.

In an attempt to independently verify the OpenAI cyberattack, our team accessed the official OpenAI website and ChatGPT, finding both to be functioning properly. This raises questions about the credibility of the hacker group’s claims, leaving room for speculation about their true motives.

OpenAI Cyberattack: Past Incidents Cast Doubt on Current Claims

Looking back to November 2023, OpenAI faced a similar situation when Anonymous Sudan, in collaboration with “Skynet,” claimed responsibility for a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on OpenAI’s login portal. Users encountered difficulties logging into ChatGPT portals, leading to concerns raised on social media platforms.

While the login issues were initially attributed to an internal software glitch, the current OpenAI cyberattack claim by Anonymous Sudan raises doubts about the possibility of a recurring cyber threat.

Sam Altman’s Return and Immediate Plans for OpenAI

Amid these challenges, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, was fired in November. To everyone’s surprise, he has now made a comeback to his leadership position.

OpenAI Cyberattack

Altman announced the formation of a new initial board, consisting of Bret Taylor as Chair, Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo.

“I am returning to OpenAI as CEO. Mira will return to her role as CTO. The new initial board will consist of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo,” reads the official Statement.

In addition to this announcement, Altman also outlined…

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