07/01/24 – Translated from Ukrainian via Google and OFP
The attack affected both subscriber networks and operators who used the affected infrastructure.
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A large-scale cyberattack carried out by specialists from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in June left at least 250 thousand subscribers in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, primarily in the temporarily occupied Crimea, without communication.
As UNIAN was told by a source in the special service, representatives of Russian providers are calling it the most powerful DDoS attack they have ever encountered.
“In an interview, Ivan Zima, CEO of one of the Russian telecom operators, said that it took providers at least 16 hours to at least partially restore communications. In fact, a significant number of subscribers remained without communications for more than two days. The attack affected both the subscriber networks and the networks of the operators who used the affected infrastructure. As the representatives of the providers themselves note, during the restoration of communications, they experienced difficulties in communicating with subscribers. Fearing traditional Russian fraud, subscribers refused to provide operators with their current contact information, and 20% of subscribers refused to upgrade their network equipment, which in the future could protect them from further attacks,” the agency’s interlocutor said.
At the same time, according to the source, providers had to attract hundreds of additional technical specialists, in particular to handle numerous requests from dissatisfied customers.
One of the most affected providers was the telecom operator Miranda-Media. Subscribers of this provider not only did not have access to communication, but also could not pay for services due to the failure of the billing system.
“Users of Miranda-Media (which operates under the Mirtelecom brand in the occupied territories) were unable to access the network in Crimea, in the temporarily occupied territories of the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. In addition, the networks of the Russian provider Farline suffered significant damage, primarily in Crimea,” a source in the Main Intelligence Directorate informed UNIAN.
As UNIAN reported, the defeat of Russian servers, online services and network infrastructure has recently occurred systematically. For example, in early June, cyber specialists from the Main Intelligence Directorate carried out a massive attack on the websites of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Industry and Energy of the Russian Federation and other objects. And on June 12, the so-called “Russia Day,” online platforms of Russian airports were attacked, which led to delays in flights.
Recently, as a result of massive cyber attacks on the communication infrastructure in the occupied Crimea, traffic on the Kerch Bridge was stopped. A massive DDos attack was also carried out on the website of the propaganda website Kerch FM and the servers of the mobile operator Miranda Media.