Attack on Vodafone Portugal: Outages since Monday

Following a targeted attack, Vodafone’s services in Portugal have been partially down since Monday. In addition to mobile communications and Internet, ATMs and emergency calls are also affected.

Large parts of the communications infrastructure affected

Vodafone is one of the three largest communications service providers in Portugal – the damage is correspondingly extensive. Seven million customers are affected and cannot fully use the provider’s mobile communications or mobile Internet. LTE and 5G mobile communications, the TV cable network, SMS and voice and voice mail services are particularly affected. 3G services, on the other hand, were quickly restored and are largely usable. In addition, ATMs connected to the 4G network failed (and continue to fail) in some cases. Emergency calls were also partially affected by the outage.

Targeted attack

Little is known so far about the background of the attack on Vodafone Portugal. However, according to Mário Vaz, the company’s managing director, it was a targeted attack designed to affect network and service availability. Vaz spoke of a terrorist act in this regard. However, more details about the investigation and the findings so far are not known, making it difficult to classify the statement.

Var also announced that work was continuing on the recovery, which could take even longer. Var also said that some services were available again, but could only be used with a high degree of uncertainty. Currently, the 4G network is being gradually reintroduced. Initially, it is not only significantly limited in speed, but its availability is also restricted to certain regions. All of this suggests that this was a serious incident, and Vodafone is still struggling with its effects and how to rectify them.

Probably no data stolen

According to Vodafone, there are no indications so far that customer data has been stolen. With what background the networks were paralyzed is completely unclear. Further findings are not expected until the investigative work of an IT team has been completed.

Against the backdrop of the incident, the Portuguese Attorney General pointed out that cyber attacks pose a serious threat. While they have not increased in Portugal in recent years, they have been much more severe. In the specific case of the current attack, Vodafone’s IT team is investigating, as is the Portuguese Criminal Investigation Department, which is enlisting the help of international law enforcement agencies and domestic intelligence services.