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Veon, the parent company for Kyivstar, Ukraine’s top mobile operator, recently outlined the financial impact of the Kyivstar cyberattack in December. The breach is anticipated to have caused a substantial revenue shortfall for the 2024 fiscal year, estimated at around 3.6 billion Ukrainian hryvnias, or nearly $95 million.
Kyivstar cyberattack resulted in substantial disruptions to Kyivstar’s network, affecting voice and data services, international roaming, and SMS for users in Ukraine and abroad.
The cyber intrusions prompted Kyivstar to collaborate with Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, including the Security Service of Ukraine and government entities, to restore services gradually.
The company, acknowledging the loyalty of its customers during the outage, implemented measures such as offering one month of free services on specific contracts.
Updates on Kyivstar Cyberattack
VEON conducted a financial impact assessment, indicating that the limited downtime of critical services is not expected to materially affect its consolidated results for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023.
However, the company anticipates a revenue impact in 2024, estimated at approximately USD 95 million, attributed to customer loyalty measures taken by Kyivstar to compensate for the disruptions.
CEO Oleksandr Komarov expressed optimism about the swift restoration of major services, including mobile internet, voice services, and SMS, within the next few days.
Nonetheless, he acknowledged that the full recovery of all additional services might take several weeks, highlighting the meticulous approach required in the process.
The intrusion, attributed to the hacker group Solntsepyok and linked to Russian military intelligence by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), raised concerns about potential data compromise.
Komarov, however, reassured customers that no sensitive data was compromised and dismissed circulated screenshots as fabricated.
Remediation Strategies Post the Attack
Despite the challenges, Kyivstar’s parent company emphasized its commitment to ongoing remediation efforts. The full extent of financial implications from these efforts remains uncertain and cannot be reasonably estimated at this time, according to VEON’s statement.
VEON, a digital operator serving nearly 160 million customers across six countries, operates with a vision to transform lives through technology-driven services. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company is publicly traded on NASDAQ and Euronext.
As the situation unfolds, the parent company expresses gratitude to its customers for their unwavering support post the cyber incident and extends appreciation to industry partners and Ukrainian authorities for their collaborative efforts in the recovery process.
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