Hackers hacked an ISP in the Kyiv region to launch a disinformation campaign about the “Oreshnik attack”

Interference in the work of one provider led to the mass distribution of a fake about hacking the broadcast of a telethon

On the evening of December 30, Russian hackers interfered in the work of the Internet and television provider Simnet, which operates in some settlements of Kyiv region, to place a false warning about the threat of a strike by «Oreshnik» in Ukrainian cities. The provider announced this in its Telegram channel yesterday, December 30. 

«Dear users, today, as a result of the illegal actions of unknown persons, a hacker attack was carried out, as a result of which some subscribers received false information about the alleged threat of an attack on the cities of Ukraine by an aggressor country. We inform you that the provider has no relation to this broadcast. The information provided is not true. Currently, specialists are taking measures to eliminate the consequences of the hacker attack», — the message states. As of 16:30 on December 31, a message about a hacker attack and work to eliminate its consequences also appears on the provider's website.

The provider's broadcast was interrupted for some time by a picture on which the logos of Ukrainian TV channels broadcasting in the telethon «United News» were placed. Although the telethon broadcast was not attacked and was not hacked, a fake about its hacking with a link to the picture that appeared in the minds of some Simnet subscribers was spread by a number of Telegram channels and media. Such an attack is a demonstration of the vulnerability of Ukrainian media and society in general: it is enough for Russian terrorists to spread disinformation through a hacker attack on a local provider and thus achieve a large-scale spread of panic among the population – all this without significant expenditure of technical resources and without the need to “shut down” the entire network. all TV channels and broadcasters of Ukraine», — is stated in a statement by the 1+1 media press service, distributed on December 31.