Cyber Incident Victim: M7 Group
Date:
Mar 2023
Location:
Czechia
Summary
Skylink, a Czech and Slovak operator under M7 Group, experienced a significant disruption when it was targeted by a Russian hacking group through a massive DDoS attack, which disabled most web services including customer portals and applications while leaving television broadcasts unaffected. The attack prompted an intensive recovery effort, leading to full restoration of services within approximately a day alongside the implementation of enhanced protective measures to mitigate future incidents.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 2 motives | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On March 21, 2023, M7 Group’s Czech and Slovak pay-TV operator Skylink experienced a significant disruption to its digital services following a cyberattack. The operator first acknowledged the incident through a public statement on Skylink CZ’s Facebook page, confirming a system outage affecting its website and customer portal due to a hacker attack. Initial reports indicated the attack began around 7:00 AM local time, with Skylink SK later attributing the incident to a "massive attack by a Russian hacking group" employing distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) techniques. This attack disrupted most of Skylink’s satellite and internet television web services across both countries, preventing customers from accessing websites, account management systems, and related applications. Notably, the operator clarified that television broadcast signals remained unaffected throughout the incident, ensuring uninterrupted viewing for subscribers.
Skylink’s technical teams responded immediately to mitigate the attack, working intensively to restore services. By the morning of March 22, Skylink SK’s website became operational again, while Skylink CZ’s digital platforms remained offline until at least March 24. Full restoration of all web services was achieved by 10:30 AM on March 22, according to Skylink SK’s official update. The operator implemented additional protective measures following the incident to bolster defenses against future attacks, though specific technical details of these enhancements were not disclosed. The prolonged outage of Skylink CZ’s systems contrasted with the faster recovery in Slovakia, highlighting potential differences in infrastructure resilience or attack severity between the two national operations. No data breaches or compromises of customer information were reported, with the impact confined to service accessibility rather than data integrity or confidentiality.