Cyber war hits Lonestar Cell MTN

Lonestar Cell MTN has blamed competitors for an unprecedented and repeated cyber-attacks in the form of Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) from hackers, it says are being sponsored by its competitors.

The company said the situation has caused intermittent service disruption in the delivery of the company’s data and other services. Lonestar Cell MTN in a statement issued Sunday November 6, said it is profoundly disturbing to find its competitors treading on such unorthodox practice that could have far reaching national security and economic implications.

“For the past weeks, we noticed a constant build-up of artificial volumes of data on our internet links. These artificial volumes are caused by malicious cyber activities that target our system with the aim of clogging or blocking connectivity in the network. However, we continued to react and restore service to each incident as it happens. From all indications, these attacks are only directed at Lonestar Cell MTN in the Telecommunications sector. These cyber activities coming from competitors have serious national security and economic implications.”

Meanwhile, the company said with support from the MTN Group it has has been able to secure the services of Arbor International, a credible international anti-cyber firm that is providing permanent solution to the attacks; in a bid to ensure that the full protection of its customers is kept as a matter of priority. At the same time, the international anti-cyber firm, Arbor International has confirmed in a research report that attacks of such nature-DDOS usually emanate from hackers and criminals financed by competitors in the marketplace in an effort to gain competitive advantage.

However, this developing global threat, which is only directed at Lonestar Cell MTN in the West African Region, is becoming a serious international concern. Recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigators (FBI) arrested two Israelis, YardenBidani and ItayHuri, who were paid up to US$618,000 as fees for effecting cyberattacks, in an investigation for alleged DDOS Attacks around the world. link: https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/11/major-cyberattack-seller-busted/. Lonestar Cell MTN is pleading to the Liberian Authorities to take this issue seriously, because this threat could affect other financial institutions.

The leading cellular network provider is calling on the National Government through its security apparatus to institute immediate investigation into the matter as these Distributed Denial of Service- DDOS attacks amount to economic sabotage and calls on the LTA to ensure that Liberia urgently joins Africa CERT, an organization setup to protect countries around Africa against cyber threats. These DDOS attacks, the statement added, were undermining government revenue intake and denying Lonestar Cell MTN subscribers of adequate services.

Lonestar Cell MTN wants to reassure its many subscribers that they are guaranteed the best service in the sector as this situation is being handled. All the necessary preparations are being concluded to launch the best and most efficient internet service that will give our customers superior internet experience as they continue to explore the Bold New Digital World.