NSDC: Russian occupiers can tap mobile phones of Ukrainians. Kyivstar denies this (UPD)

The Center for countering disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council warns that mobile phones in Ukraine may be tapped by Russian invaders. For confidential conversations, Ukrainians are advised to use messengers with secure encryption, the website of the state body reported.

"The GPA warns that due to the fact that today the occupiers have access to cellular equipment in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, they may interfere with the operation of mobile communications," the report says.

Moreover, this can happen through "parallel" forwarding, in which the call can go simultaneously to two numbers — a direct subscriber and someone else's number, the department explained.

How to protect yourself from wiretapping

To protect yourself and your loved ones from such actions, the national security and Defense Council called for using service codes to check for the presence of call forwarding on your own mobile number.

In particular, these service codes are universal and suitable for all phones:

*#21# call-check information about enabled forwarding;* # 43#Call — Call Waiting service status;*# 62#call — check forwarding to another number;*# 33#call — displays the status of blocking outgoing services: calls, SMS and data;## 002 # call — delete all call redirects.

Meanwhile, for confidential conversations, the state agency advises using messengers with secure encryption.

UPD. Explanation from Kyivstar

At the same time, the press service of the mobile operator Kyivstar said that the information distributed by the GPA does not correspond to reality. In particular, they gave the following arguments::

base stations in the temporarily occupied territories operate normally if they are not damaged or de-energized;the equipment of base stations as a signal repeater does not contain any information about subscriber calls or personal data in the base station. However, this information is available on the subscriber's phone. If the subscriber is in the occupied territory — contacts, internet search history, social media accounts, mobile banking applications, photos — it is better to delete from the phone;information is stored on the equipment of the network core, which is located in a protected area;at any moment, at the slightest threat, switches can be turned off by the operator remotely. This means that the number information is securely protected.

"Consequently, communication in the networks of Ukrainian mobile operators is safe for subscribers," the telecom company assured.

As an example, they cited the fact that after the disconnection of Ukrainian communication in the Kherson region, it was restored. Access to corporate networks and equipment of operators in the temporarily occupied territories was closed, and all access passwords were changed.

The operator also said that the traffic is transmitted in encrypted form. Data is transmitted between subscribers ' phones and base stations in encrypted form, which makes it impossible to listen. At the same time, operators use modern encryption systems recommended by international organizations that develop standards for mobile communication and network operation.

"It is impossible to access the network from the outside. Access to external ports of base station equipment, network and switching equipment is blocked. Operators track illegal activation in the network. Network equipment monitoring works on operators ' networks. Any inclusion of operators in the network for the purpose of listening (by so — called Packet duplication) will be immediately noticed," Kyivstar noted.

Recall that on May 1, it became known that throughout the territory of the Kherson and part of the Zaporozhye regions, the Russian invaders turned off mobile communications and the internet. To do this, they cut off fiber-optic trunk lines and disconnected the equipment of operators in these regions from power supply.

Already on May 4, mobile operators restored telephone communication and internet in Kherson and the region, which was absent from the region since May 1, 2022 due to damage to the optical cable by the invaders.