Kyiv Spy Chief: Russian Hackers Inside Ukrainian Telecoms Giant Since May

Image copyright: Maksym Kozlenko/Wikimedia Commons

The Facts

  • Russian hackers compromised Ukraine's biggest telecommunications provider from as far back as May 2023, Ukraine's top cybersecurity official told Reuters in an interview published Thursday.

  • Kyivstar, which provides services to 24M Ukrainians, went down temporarily the following December. Officials blamed the outage on a hack, but reassured customers that their personal data had not been breached.


The Spin

Pro-Ukraine narrative

This cyber hack is a wake-up call not just to Ukraine, but all of Europe and the world. It demonstrates the lengths that Russian hackers are prepared to go to steal sensitive data, reiterating why everyone must take the threat of future Russian intrusions with adequate seriousness.

Pro-Russia narrative

Russian agencies and government computers are attacked by sophisticated hackers from across the world every single day. The Russian government is by no means an exception in having to ensure that its systems are protected and safe from foreign attacks. It's disingenuous to label the Kremlin as a bad actor when it comes to cyber crimes.


Metaculus Prediction


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Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO

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