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Ukraine Mobile Phones Under Cyberattack

Ukraine Under Cyberattack
Reuters
LUBIMOVKA, UKRAINE - MARCH 04: Colonel Yuli Mamchor (L), commander of the Ukrainian military garrison at the Belbek airbase, leads his unarmed troops to retake the Belbek airfield from soldiers under Russian command in Crimea on March 4, 2014 in Lubimovka, Ukraine. After spending a tense night anticipating a Russian attack following the expiration of a Russian deadline to surrender, in which family members of troops spent the night at the garrison gate in support of the soldiers, Mamchor announced his bold plan to his soldiers early this morning. The Russian-lead troops fired their weapons into the air but then granted Mamchor the beginning of negotiations with their commander. Russian-lead troops have blockaded a number of Ukrainian military bases across Crimea. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
LUBIMOVKA, UKRAINE - MARCH 04: Colonel Yuli Mamchor (L), commander of the Ukrainian military garrison at the Belbek airbase, leads his unarmed troops to retake the Belbek airfield from soldiers under Russian command in Crimea on March 4, 2014 in Lubimovka, Ukraine. After spending a tense night anticipating a Russian attack following the expiration of a Russian deadline to surrender, in which family members of troops spent the night at the garrison gate in support of the soldiers, Mamchor announced his bold plan to his soldiers early this morning. The Russian-lead troops fired their weapons into the air but then granted Mamchor the beginning of negotiations with their commander. Russian-lead troops have blockaded a number of Ukrainian military bases across Crimea. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

(Reuters) - Ukraine's telecommunications system has come under attack, with equipment installed in Russian-controlled Crimea used to interfere with the mobile phones of members of parliament, the head of Ukraine's SBU security service said on Tuesday.

"I confirm that an IP-telephonic attack is under way on mobile phones of members of Ukrainian parliament for the second day in row," Valentyn Nalivaichenko told a news briefing.

"At the entrance to (telecoms firm) Ukrtelecom in Crimea, illegally and in violation of all commercial contracts, was installed equipment that blocks my phone as well as the phones of other deputies, regardless of their political affiliation," he said.

"The security services are now seeking to restore at least the security of communications," he said. "All state information security systems were unprepared for such a brazen violation of the law."

Russian forces seized Crimea last week.

(Editing by Jon Boyle)

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