The Spanish unit of telecoms provider Orange, the telecommunications behemoth, encountered disruptions in its internet services due to cyberattack.
Users from various networks reported connectivity issues, leading the company to address the concerns through its X account, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The disturbance first came to light on a Wednesday afternoon, prompting Orange to respond promptly to rectify the situation.
Orange Cyberattack: User Feedback and Swift Action
Acknowledging the widespread incident, Orange reassured users that their vigilant feedback played a pivotal role in promptly detecting the Orange cyberattack.
“We have identified a widespread incident affecting our nationwide service. Fortunately, it was swiftly identified (thanks largely to your comments and notices), and we are already actively working to resolve it,” responded the company to a user experiencing connection problems due to a cyberattack on Orange.
Orange assured users that the situation was on the mend. In a subsequent X account post, the company stated, “For those of you who informed us about difficulties accessing certain websites, the issue has already been resolved for some clients, and we anticipate a full recovery soon. Please update us here. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.”
The company affirmed that the disruption resulted from a cyberattack, specifying that the Orange account in the IP network coordination center (RIPE) experienced unauthorized access. Importantly, they emphasized that customer data remained secure, and the impact was confined to the navigation of select services.
Details of the cyberattack unfolded over subsequent hours. Screenshots of the Orange cyberattack were shared by an account created in January, claiming to have rectified the security of Orange’s RIPE administrator account.
The hacker posted a message instructing Orange to send a message to receive new credentials. The screenshots depicted the unauthorized access that had the potential to disrupt the entire network.
Despite this, Orange managed to contain the impact, with RIPE only blocking specific DNS, sparing the entire Orange network and its services from a complete shutdown. The method through which Orange recovered the compromised credentials remains uncertain.
Global Trend: Telecom Cybersecurity Challenges
This incident comes on the heels of a recent cyberattack on Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest telecommunications company, leading to widespread disruptions in phone and internet services.
In November, Optus, Australia’s second-largest telecommunications provider, faced a severe communication crisis with a widespread outage. Initial speculations of a cyberattack were debunked, and Optus has officially disclosed the cause behind the outage, quelling lingering concerns.
The increasing frequency and scale of such cyber incidents are prompting questions about the overall cybersecurity resilience of the global telecommunications industry.
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