Ukraine telecom provider faces 'massive cyberattack' as Russian invasion enters day 34

Ukraine’s telephone service company Ukrtelecom’s IT infrastructure suffered a “powerful cyberattack” on Monday, announced the country’s State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection (SSSCIP).  According to the update shared on Twitter, the SSSCIP chairman Yurii Shchyhol has confirmed that the attack has been neutralised and the work to resume services is also underway.

However, in a bid to continue providing services to Ukrainian armed forces and other military formations, SSSCIP stated that Ukrtelecom temporarily limited its services provided to most private users and other business clients. Additionally, experts from the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine “promptly reacted” to the situation due to the cyberattack which was repelled by the authorities.

The telecom service provider of Ukraine was targetted just a day after Hacker group Network Battalion 65 or 'NB65’ claimed on Sunday that it hacked All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, also known as Russian Television and Radio, as the Russia-Ukraine war continues for the fifth week. NB65, linked to hacker group ‘Anonymous’, said that it had retrieved over 870 gigabytes of information from the company and said that the data will be released soon, stated Anonymous TV. It is pertinent to note here that the company’s principal assets are Russia-1, Russia 24, and RTR Planeta TV channels. 

Meanwhile, in the latest update, the Russian Defence Ministry on Tuesday said that on March 28, its forces shot down three more Ukrainian aircraft as the operation continues. In total, Russia claimed to have destroyed Ukraine's 123 aircraft and 74 helicopters, 309 unmanned aerial vehicles, 1,721 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 172 multiple launch rocket systems, 721 field artillery and mortars, as well as 1,568 units of special military vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed during the operation.

Russian forces repulsed 40 kms from Ukraine's Kryvyi Rih

The head of the Kryvyi Rih Regional State Administration Oleksandr Vilkul stated that the Russian forces were repulsed just 40 kilometres away from the Ukrainian city. He said, "The enemy is not just stopped in all directions, but also pushed back from the distant approaches of the city. Today several more settlements of the Kherson area are released. And the occupiers are 40 kilometers from the city, and in some areas - and 60 kilometers."

Image: AP