Cyberwar security A hacker was arrested by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) for providing the Russian military with a system for telephone communications. SSU The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has arrested a hacker who was providing technical assistance to the Russian military by routing telephone calls. The security service published images of the subject in handcuffs and the equipment used on the Facebook page, Twitter profile and Telegram channel. This shows that Russia has not provided the military with an encrypted communication system. "Receptionist" hacker arrested During the attack on the city of Kharkiv, the Russian military destroyed the 3G towers that were used for telephone calls, thus causing the interruption of their encrypted communication system (known as Era). This allowed Ukrainian intelligence to intercept calls, including the one between two FSB agents confirming the killing of General Vitaly Gerasimov. Telephone operators blocked calls from Russian and Belarusian numbers, so the military started using devices stolen from Ukrainian citizens. The person arrested by the SSU played the role of "switchboard operator", sorting the calls through a SIM box (on the left in the image at the beginning of the article) which can manage up to 128 SIM cards, two GSM gateways and specific software. The system was also used to send text messages to Ukrainian military and civilians to suggest that they surrender. This would explain why Ukraine's cellular networks are still functional. However, a cybersecurity expert pointed out that such a system does not secure communications, as it is quite easy to intercept calls. The Ukrainian security service has announced that the hacker will be judged with the utmost severity because he is responsible for the deaths of tens or hundreds of Ukrainians.
hacker
Hacker handling calls from Russians arrested