VEON has released a statement regarding the recovery of its Ukrainian subsidiary Kyivstar's network following attacks that took place on the 12th of December, 2023. The statement says:
“On December 12, 2023, Kyivstar's network suffered one of the largest cyber-attacks in the history of the global telecom market, which prevented the operator's subscribers from using communication services.
The company's technical teams immediately began the work to restore services; and as of 20.00 Kyiv time on 12 December 2023, they have partially restored the operation of fixed-line services. Currently, the Kyivstar technical teams are working on restoring other services, with the intention of and the best effort towards achieving recovery starting 13 December 2023. The restoration of services may be gradual, and Kyivstar will inform the public and its customers as the restoration progresses.
The Kyivstar team works in close cooperation with Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, government services, and the Security Service of Ukraine, and would like to thank them for their immediate response and assistance in resolving this unprecedented situation. The Kyivstar team also expresses its gratitude to all customers, corporate clients, partners and industry colleagues for their understanding and support.”
Kyivstar's network was the target of a widespread hacker attack, rendering its communication and Internet access services temporarily unavailable in Ukraine.
VEON and Kyivstar are conducting a thorough investigation to determine the full extent and impact of the incident, and to implement additional security measures to prevent any recurrence. The exact magnitude of the financial impact is not yet quantifiable as it will depend on how long services are impacted.
