The company that owns Kyivstar, VEON, published a financial report for the last 9 months and the 3rd quarter of 2024 in particular. It mentions a large-scale cyberattack by Russian hackers on Kyivstar in December 2023 and overcoming its consequences.
The company that owns Kyivstar, VEON, published a financial report for the last 9 months and the 3rd quarter of 2024 in particular. It mentions a large-scale cyberattack by Russian hackers on Kyivstar in December 2023 and overcoming its consequences.
In the VEON report, this section is titled «Cybersecurity Incident in Ukraine.»
«On December 12, 2023, the company announced that the network of its Ukrainian subsidiary Kyivstar was the subject of a large-scale external cyberattack, which led to a technical failure. On December 19, 2023, VEON reported that Kyivstar had resumed services in all categories of its communication services,» the report says.
VEON notes that Kyivstar then launched a special offer program to thank its customers for their loyalty, even though it had no «legal obligation to do so.» As part of the program, users of certain contracts could receive one month of free service.
«The impact of these offerings on operating income for the six months ended June 30, 2024 was $46 million,» the report said. In the third quarter, this reimbursement no longer had an impact on the company’s finances.
VEON assured that they conducted an investigation to clarify all the circumstances of the cyberattack, and that Kyivstar carried out «measures to eliminate and mitigate the consequences to reduce current risks and create a reliable protection system to withstand the evolution of cyber threats».
It was previously reported that VEON is considering an initial public offering (IPO) of Kyivstar on the US stock exchange as early as next year. If the IPO is held, Kyivstar will become the first Ukrainian company registered in the US.
