Russian hackers had secret access to Ukraine’s telecom giant for months

The incident “completely destroyed the core of a telecom operator,” he said, noting that the attackers were likely to have had full access since at least November, months after gaining an initial foothold in the company’s infrastructure.

“The attack was meticulously prepared over the course of several months,” Vitiuk said in a statement shared on the SBU website.

Kyivstar, which has since restored its operations, said there was no evidence that customers’ personal data had been compromised. It is currently unknown how the threat actor entered its network.

It is noteworthy that the company had earlier dismissed as “false” the speculations about the attackers destroying its computers and servers.

The disclosure comes as the SBU revealed earlier this week that it took down two online surveillance cameras that were allegedly hacked by Russian intelligence agencies to spy on the defense forces and critical infrastructure in the capital city of Kyiv.

The agency said the agreement allowed the rival to gain remote control of the cameras, adjust their viewing angle, and connect to YouTube to capture “all visual information in range of the cameras.”