Mobile carriers in Ukraine are now struggling to keep citizens' smartphones online. With that, the carriers are going rogue mode amidst Russia's tactics to directly target telecoms units both through cyberattacks and rockets.
Ukrainian Mobile Carriers are Struggling to Keep Citizens' Smartphones Connected
According to a story by 9to5Mac, smartphones have taken a critical role when it comes to Ukrainian citizens. To add, Russia used not to have that much interest in targeting data centers and base stations.
Russia, however, has seen a change in directions as they launch physical attacks and hacking attempts directly to Ukrainian carriers and ISPs. An article by Forbes reports that Ukrainian rival carriers are now working together in order to keep the citizens' smartphones connected.
Vodafone Ukraine, Kyivstar, and Lifecell Worked Together to Bring 'National Roaming'
As per Forbes, the rival telecom companies are all working together to "keep lines open." Just recently, Vodafone Ukraine, Kyivstar, and even Lifecell all worked together to bring "national roaming" to its citizens.
This means that subscribers can easily switch from network to network should their main provider go offline. The providers are also working together to find rogue operators supplying the "Russian invaders" with network access.
Hacker Caught Supplying Access to Russians
The report detailed how a hacker has just been arrested for giving the "occupiers" mobile communication within Ukraine according to a statement from the country's security services. In addition, the authorities also announced on Telegram how a hacker had been able to facilitate up to 1,000 calls in a single day, with a lot of them coming from Russian leadership located in Moscow.
As per a telecom company source, the recent hacker being caught is the latest case of "refiling fraud." To explain, refiling fraud was used by the hackers to allow calls directed into Ukraine while hiding the callers' original number.
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Engineers Risk Their Lives to Bring Ukrainian Citizens Smartphone Access
A fee was charged for the calls and allowed them to bypass different blocks or additional charges from the telecom provider directly. With that, a telecom employee stated that this is a particularly common fraudster technique that had been adapted for wartime.
The report also detailed how engineers are putting their lives at risk in order to restore Internet connectivity within damaged and targeted buildings. Despite obliterated internet wires and terrain, curfews, fire-blackened data centers, even the lack of light and the risk of death, fixers are risking their lives just to give Ukrainians access to the internet.
Access to the internet, as explained, helps Ukrainians stay in touch with people coming from outside of the border and help reveal what is happening within the country. As per Forbes, the government is giving them the title "invisible heroes" since they had to enter dangerous places in order to replace and upgrade the equipment.
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Written by Urian B.
