The Ukrainian Internet Service Provider Ukrtelecom was the target of a “massive cyberattack,” the Ukrainian government said Monday. As of 12:35 pm PT on Monday, the attack had been neutralized, according to the State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection (SSSCIP) of Ukraine.
The attack on core IT infrastructure impacted the entire nation, according to global internet access tracker NetBlocks, leading to the most severe internet disruption registered in Ukraine since the invasion by Russia. NetBlocks said that, according to network data, connectivity appeared to collapse to 13% of pre-war levels.
The SSSCIP said Monday afternoon that Ukrtelecom was resuming services. However, the agency said on Twitter, “In order to preserve its network infrastructure and to continue providing services to Ukraine’s Armed Forces and other military formations as well as to the customers, #Ukrtelecom has temporarily limited providing its services to the majority of private users and business-clients.”
In a separate statement delivered Monday, SSSCIP Chairman Yurii Shchyhol said, “The first in the human history cyberwar is under way.”
The “entire IT-community of the world” is united against Russia’s invasion, Shchyhol added, name-dropping companies like Microsoft and Oracle for helping Ukraine. Additionally, the SSSCIP said that based on reports, it can “assume” the “hacker community opposing Russia” is aiming to destroy military infrastructure that threatens Ukraine.
“Our main challenge today is the victory over the enemy on all the battlefields, including cyberspace,” the SSSCIP said in a release. “Every one of us can help in this fight by following the rules of cyberhygiene — not to open unknown messages, not to download the files whose origin is not clear, to treat critically all the incoming information.”
