Cyber Threats in Ukraine: An Invisible War

Many cyber incidents in Ukraine remain unnoticed, with only about 20% becoming public knowledge.

This was shared by Sergei Kharyuk, founder of AmonSul and co-founder of the largest Ukrainian cybersecurity community, in an interview with EP.

"According to my estimates, for every public incident, there are at least four that go unreported. This is especially true for the private sector," he stated.

Kharyuk cited an example where one of the bots collecting personal data surfaced information that some data was allegedly "leaked" from a pharmacy network. Although there was no official confirmation of a breach, the mere appearance of such data indicates a probable hack.

Regarding whether the government should publicly disclose cyber incidents, Kharyuk emphasized that the situation is complex, especially during wartime. If it concerns the Defense Forces, public disclosure may be inadvisable, but in the civilian sector, openness allows other organizations to learn from mistakes.

"For example, Kyivstar only acknowledged they were hacked, but real collaboration began only after the attack on UZ. Then, the operator's specialists came to assist in recovery. However, this is like help after a person has broken a leg," he added.

To learn more about the largest cyberattacks and how Russian hackers operate, read the interview: Who is winning the Russian-Ukrainian cyberwar and are elections possible in "Diia"? An interview with a "white hat" hacker.