Cyberattack Leaves 7 Million Movilnet Users Without Mobile Service and Causes Nine Fiber-Optic Outages in Venezuela
In August 2017, amid a wave of attacks against Venezuelan government websites, an incident affected the GSM platform of the state-owned carrier Movilnet on Wednesday, August 9, cutting off communication for 7 of its 13 million users. Authorities also reported nine outages in the country’s fiber-optic network that disrupted internet access in seven states. The Minister of Science and Technology, Hugbel Roa, described the events as “terrorist acts” and attributed them to the collaboration of “foreign agents” seeking to disrupt the country’s connectivity; security agencies launched an investigation. The hacktivist group The Binary Guardians claimed responsibility for the wave of attacks against government websites during those days, although their specific involvement in the Movilnet outage and the fiber-optic cuts has not been independently confirmed.
Impact details
According to reports, the disruption of Movilnet’s GSM service affected 7 out of 13 million users, and nine outages in the fiber-optic network disrupted Internet access in seven Venezuelan states. Public sources do not confirm any data exposure or the involvement of any specific technical actor.
Classification & severity
- Category
- Availability
- Subtype
- telecommunications service outage
- Confidence
- High
AFP, SecurityWeek, and Runrun.es report a disruption in Movilnet’s GSM service affecting seven million users, as well as nine fiber-optic outages across seven states.
Severity assessment
Severe- Functional impact
- Denial (critical)
- Information impact
- None
- Affected scope
- National
- Critical service
- Disrupted
- Public confidence
- Significant
- Recoverability
- Supplemented
Major disruption in telecommunications service affecting millions of cell phone users and connectivity in several states; the cause remains unclear.
Timeline
Start of a wave of attacks against dozens of government and private-sector websites, claimed by The Binary Guardians.
Movilnet’s GSM platform experiences an outage that leaves 7 of its 13 million users without service; nine outages are reported on the national fiber-optic network, affecting seven states.
Minister of Science and Technology Hugbel Roa publicly announces the scope of the attack, describes it as a “terrorist act,” and attributes it to “foreign agents”; an investigation is launched.