Veon CEO Accuses Russian State Actors of 'Military-Grade' Cyberattack on Ukrainian Telecom

  • Veon Ltd., the wireless operator that owns Ukraine’s largest mobile company Kyivstar, accused Russian state actors of carrying out a "military-grade" cyberattack in December 2023.

  • The cyberattack disrupted phone and internet services for about 24 million people in Ukraine, affecting digital banking services, ATMs, and some air raid sirens.

  • Veon CEO Kaan Terzioglu said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the attack looked like it was executed by Russian state actors based on the company's investigation.

  • Ukraine’s government had previously warned that cyberattacks by Russia were becoming more sophisticated and aimed at disrupting vital infrastructure during wartime.

  • The State Cyber Protection Center had previously attributed the majority of cyber incidents in Ukraine to hacker groups funded by the Russian government.

  • Veon provided $100 million worth of benefits to customers as compensation for the disrupted services.

  • Kyivstar has been a regular target of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks since the war began.