Tag: Russia

MTN, Vodafone, and Other Telecom Companies Now Offer Free Calls and SMS to Ukraine

In lieu of the Russia Ukraine crisis going on, more than a dozen telecommunications companies on both sides of the Atlantic are offering free international calls to Ukraine or eliminating roaming fees in the country.

Due to the high International Telecommunication Regulations (ITR) in Ukraine, the offer is aimed at assisting customers in staying in touch with their loved ones while also eliminating associated International Direct Dialing (IDD) costs.

Alongside MTN, some of the other telecommunication companies include

MTN
MTN Group Limited, formerly M-Cell, is a South African multinational mobile telecommunications company, operating in many African and Asian countries.

The telecommunications company said this in a statement on March 3. Karl Toriola, the CEO of MTN, said: “We understand that some of our customers in Ukraine have experienced challenges trying to contact their loved ones. As a result, we have stepped in with support to ensure that our customers, both at home and in Ukraine, are still able to connect with family and friends. All of our customers will benefit from the waived SMS and voice call fees to and from Ukraine. “This blanket waiver has been put in place as an immediate response to the need.”

Toriola explained, “We’ve worked closely with our industry body GSMA to make the connection easier. Whilst MTN does not have operations in Ukraine, we have heeded the call to remain responsive to our customers in their time of need.

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Each active network subscriber will get 30 minutes of free voice calls and 50 free SMS. Customers can check their allocated minutes/SMS, used volume, balance, and expiry date until March 31st. Unused free minutes expire on March 31 or earlier as advised and do not rollover.

Vodafone
Vodafone is a leading technology communications company in Europe and Africa, keeping society connected and building a digital future. Between February 28 and March 5, 2022, Vodafone announced a similar offer.

Vodafone said in a statement to its customers. “Effective 28th February 2022 and over the next five days, we are availing free calls and text messages for Vodafone customers trying to get in contact with family and friends in Ukraine. Additionally, Vodafone Ghana is offering free roaming services (calls, text messages, and internet) for any of our customers who remain in Ukraine,”

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“We hope and pray that our customers and their loved ones remain safe during this challenging period,” the telecommunications company added.

Furthermore, Vodafone also offered free calls and SMS services in Europe to and from Ukraine.

Verizon
Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name of Verizon Wireless

Verizon said it was waiving charges for calls from residential landline and consumer or business wireless phones to and from Ukraine until March 10. It also scrapped voice and text roaming charges for customers in Ukraine.

Others
According to livemint report, European telecoms lobbying group ETNO said an internal survey showed at least 13 of its members have taken measures to help Ukrainians after Russia invaded the country, while more are expected to do the same in the coming days.

They are Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, Telia Company, A1 Telekom Austria Group, Telenor, Proximus, KPN, Vodafone, Vivacom, TIM Telecom Italia, Altice Portugal and Swisscom.

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Some of the offers include giving SIM cards to refugees in neighboring countries, free Wi-Fi in refugee camps, activating the ‘SMS donation’ function to help organisations aiding refugees and including Ukrainian channels in IPTV packages for free, ETNO said.

U.S. telecoms group AT&T last week said its U.S. consumer and business customers will get unlimited long-distance calling to Ukraine until March 7.

March 12, 2022
Visa and Mastercard have suspended access to their networks to Russian banks in the aftermath of Russia’s sanctions.

Visa and Mastercard have blocked financial institutions from their networks in response to sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia launched an unprecedented invasion of Ukraine last week, prompting the United States and governments around the world to impose a slew of sanctions aimed at cutting Moscow off from the global financial system.

The United States placed a number of Russian individuals and financial institutions on a sanctions list known as the Specially Designated Nationals list last week. It effectively prohibits American companies and individuals from doing business with any individual or entity on that list. On Monday, Washington sanctioned Russia’s central bank.

Mastercard announced on Monday that it had “blocked multiple financial institutions” from its payment network, without naming any companies or individuals. “In the days ahead, we will continue to work with regulators to fully comply with our compliance obligations as they evolve,” the company added.

Visa has also blocked those on the sanctions list, stating on Tuesday that it is “taking prompt action to ensure compliance with applicable sanctions, and are prepared to comply with any additional sanctions that may be implemented.”

Both Visa and Mastercard have pledged $2 million in humanitarian relief funds for Ukraine.

It comes after the United States, Canada, and their European allies agreed on Saturday to remove key Russian banks from the SWIFT interbank messaging system. It means that Russian banks will be unable to communicate securely with banks located outside of Russia.

The Russian ruble has plummeted in value as a result of the broad-based sanctions. Russians have also been queuing in long lines to withdraw cash from ATMs.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has urged major cryptocurrency exchanges to block Russian users’ addresses.

Because cryptocurrencies are not owned or controlled by a single entity like a central bank, they could become a way for Russians to potentially circumvent sanctions and get their money out of the country.

Binance, the world’s largest exchange, has stated that it will block the accounts of sanctioned Russian individuals but has stressed that it will not “unilaterally” freeze the accounts of all Russian users.

March 1, 2022
The deadly cyber Russia-Ukraine war

As reactions trail the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the technological dimension continues to emerge by the day. Cyberspace has become another platform for this war. Both countries continue to experience diverse adversarial attacks and consequences technologically and within their respective cyber ecosystem.

As reported earlier this week by Techpression, the Russians have been accused of attacking the financial services and various government websites of Ukraine. These attacks serve as the first cyber-offensive in this war. Also, some parts of the second-largest city in Ukraine, Kharkiv, witnessed internet disruption on Thursday. According to NetBlocks, an internet tracking advocacy group reported that about 25 per cent of Kharkiv’s 1.8 million residents and the surrounding region experienced this outage.

On the other hand, many physical attacks have targeted various infrastructures in Ukraine that will disrupt the internet. Power grids, cell towers, and other telecommunication infrastructure are casualties of bombings and armed fights, further decimating Ukraine’s cyberspace.

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On the other hand, Russia has also been a victim of cyber-related attacks since this war began. It was reported that ISPs in Russia are experiencing disruption. Anonymous, a cyber activist group, reported that numerous ISPs had been brought down. Although the credit is not attributed to the Ukrainian government, it appears to be a retaliatory move by members of this group. A quick check of the four reported ISP showed that only relcom.ru had been fully restored, with the remaining three still down.

Despite this impact on Russia, Ukraine has been affected the more. ISPs in Ukraine such as Triolan, are experiencing partial outages, with websites going down due to the numerous cyber-attacks. Hence, this war is not all about mortal and guns or any other kinetic approach. It encompasses the internet, a significant aspect that must not be ignored.

Different Approaches

Each country understands the role of cyberspace in this warfare. Hence, their recognition and support for its deployment in their offensive. The government of Ukraine has approached its cyber offensive in an uncoordinated manner. To secure critical infrastructure and perform cyber-surveillance missions against Russian forces, the Ukrainian government is reportedly looking for volunteers from the country’s hacker underground.

Hackers and cybersecurity experts have been urged to submit their applications through online forms. Co-founder of a cybersecurity firm in Kyiv, Yegor Aushev, told Reuters that an official requested the appointment from Ukraine’s military on Thursday. Aushev’s company Cyber Unit Technologies is well recognised for collaborating with the government to defend critical infrastructure. The volunteers will be in two parts: defensive and offensive cyber units. The offensive unit will concentrate on conducting cyber espionage activity against the Russians.

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On the other hand, the Russian approach is more coordinated and demonstrates long-term cyber capability development. The Russian military was modernised, and cyber techniques were incorporated following Russia’s 2008 retreat from Georgia. Ever since state-sanctioned cyberattacks have dominated Russia’s military strategy. Typically, these attacks are orchestrated by the GRU, Russia’s Main Intelligence Directory. Customised malware (malicious software) is commonly used to attack the systems of a targeted nation’s infrastructure and systems.

A clear demonstration of this impact was the discovery of a new data wiper malware. It has infected hundreds of machines. Russia was accused of this attack. However, the officials from Russia have denied responsibility for these attacks. Likewise, Russia’s embassy in Canberra has denied any role in the most recent strikes on Ukraine.

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February 27, 2022