Cyber Attacks in Ukraine: The Hidden Threat

Most cyber attacks in Ukraine remain in the shadows, with only about 20% becoming public knowledge.

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

According to him, for every publicly discussed incident, there are at least four that go unreported, particularly in the private sector.

Kharyuk provided an example where a bot collecting personal data indicated that some of the information was allegedly leaked from a pharmacy network. Although there was no official confirmation of a breach, the mere existence of such data suggests a potential compromise.

When asked about whether the government should publicly report cyber incidents, Kharyuk emphasized that the situation is ambiguous, especially during wartime. For defense forces, public disclosure may be inadvisable, while in the civilian sector, transparency allows other organizations to learn from mistakes.

For instance, "Kyivstar" only admitted they were hacked, but true collaboration began only after the attack on UZ, when operator specialists came to assist with recovery. However, this was akin to offering help after a person has already broken their leg.

Read more about the largest cyber attacks and how Russian hackers operate in our interview: "Who is Winning the Russian-Ukrainian Cyber War?"