No signal or internet: Ukrainian intel launches major attack on Russian mobile phone operator MegaFon

"Cyber specialists from Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate carried out a large-scale cyberattack on the systems of one of Russia's largest mobile and internet operators, MegaFon, which is involved in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine," sources reported.

According to the sources, the attack caused disruptions for MegaFon's clients throughout Friday, January 24.

From early morning, residents of Moscow, St. Petersburg, and several central regions of Russia began reporting issues with mobile connectivity, internet services, and the poor performance of various mobile applications and services.

Within hours, Roskomnadzor (Russia's federal communications watchdog) confirmed the disruptions. Later, Russian media attributed the outages to a successful, large-scale DDoS attack on MegaFon.

MegaFon itself claimed its network was operating "as usual," though it acknowledged the possibility of connectivity problems due to "external factors" beyond its control.

Not limited to MegaFon

According to Ukrainian intelligence sources, the successful "blanket attack" affected more than just MegaFon.

Other operators, including Yota and NetByNet, also experienced disruptions. The attack temporarily cut off Russians from internet resources and services such as Steam, Twitch, and Discord — platforms widely used by the Russian military and intelligence services in their operations against Ukraine.

Not the first DDoS attack on Russia

This is not the first time Ukrainian intelligence has conducted similar operations.

For instance, on January 14, Russian users of various telecommunications operators and online services reported widespread issues. Problems were also observed on platforms like Telegram, TikTok, and Google.