This was reported by the head of the SBU’s Cyber ​​Security Department, Ilya Vityuk, in an interview with Reuters, Ukrinform reported. SBU

“The SBU not only helped Kyivstar get up and running again within a few days, but also repelled new cyber attacks. After a large-scale breach, we prevented a number of attempts that would have caused further damage to the operator. The enemy wants to keep people out of touch for as long as possible planned to attack several times in a row. In such a situation, other operators cannot withstand prolonged overload of their networks,” Vityuk said.

According to him, the SBU continues to investigate the large-scale “hacking” of Kievstar under various articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

“Currently, cyber experts of the Security Service are already investigating individual samples of malware used by the enemy. The attack was carefully prepared for months,” said the head of the Cyber ​​Security Department of the SBU.

Vityuk confirmed that behind this attack was the hacker group Sandworm, a full-time unit of Russian military intelligence, which has previously carried out repeated cyberattacks on Ukrainian objects, including telecommunications operators and Internet providers.

He noted that this cyber attack significantly affected the civilian population but did not have a serious impact on military communications because the Defense Forces used different algorithms and communication protocols.

Immediately after the incident, a response team and operational-investigative group of the SBU went to the company’s offices, documenting and investigating all the circumstances of the attack.

Cyber ​​experts of the Security Service of Ukraine also worked directly on the scene, providing assistance to Kyivstar employees, involving international cybersecurity companies, and coordinating the efforts of all government agencies to restore the network as quickly as possible.

In general, since the beginning of the large-scale occupation, the Security Service has carried out about 9,000 cyber attacks on state resources and objects of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, according to Vityuk.

As Ukrinform reported, on the morning of December 12, the operator “Kyivstar” became the target of a powerful hacker attack, which led to a technical malfunction. Communication and internet access services became unusable.

The company assured that subscribers’ personal data will not be compromised. They also promised compensation to subscribers who did not have a connection or could not use the operator’s services.

The Security Service of Ukraine has initiated criminal proceedings regarding the cyber attack on Kyivstar. One of the versions of the investigation involved the participation of Russian special services.