Internet outage in, telecom provider attacked
Users in Russia faced an internet outage in a targeted DDoS attack on Russian telecom company Beeline. This is the second major attack on the Moscow-based company in recent weeks; the provider has over 44 million subscribers.
After several user complaints and reports from outage-tracking services, Beeline confirmed the attack to local media.
According to Record Media, internet monitoring service Downdetector’s data suggests “most Beeline users in Russia faced difficulties accessing the company’s mobile app, while some also reported website outages, notification failures and internet disruptions.”
Impact on Beeline
Beeline informed about the attack on its Telegram channel, stressing that the hacker did not gain unauthorized access to consumer data. Currently, the internet provider is restoring all impacted systems and improving its cybersecurity policies to avoid future attacks. Mobile services are active, but users have cited issues using a few online services and account management features.
Rise of threat in Russia
The targeted attack on Beeline is part of a wider trend of cyberattacks in Russia; in September 2024, VTB, Russia’s second-largest bank, faced similar issues due to an attack on its infrastructure.
These attacks highlight the rising threats posed by cyberattacks cherry-picking critical infrastructures in Russia and worldwide.
Experts have been warning about the rise in intensity and advanced techniques of such cyberattacks, damaging not only critical businesses but also essential industries that support millions of Russian citizens.
Telecom companies in Russia targeted
How Beeline responds to the attack and recovers will be closely observed by both the telecom industry and regulators. The Beeline incident is similar to the attack on Russian telecom giant Megafon, another large-scale DDoS attack happened earlier this year.
According to a cybersecurity source reported by Forbes Russia, the Beeline attack in February and the Megafon incident in January are the top hacktivist cyberattacks aiming at telecom sectors in 2025.
According to the conversation with Forbes, the source said, “Both attacks were multi-vector and large-scale. The volume of malicious traffic was identical, but MegaFon faced an attack from 3,300 IP addresses, while Beeline was targeted via 1,600, resulting in a higher load per IP address.”
