A major outage affecting numerous services and websites in Russia was caused by a large-scale DDoS attack targeting Russian telecom operators. The incident was reported on the official website of the GRChTs, a subsidiary of Roskomnadzor (RKN), signaling the involvement of state-affiliated monitoring bodies in documenting the disruption.
According to a statement from the Center for Monitoring and Control of Public Communications Networks (CPM SSOP), the disruption began around 14:00 on August 21. The center noted that several services in Russia experienced operational failures linked to the DDoS assault on domestic telecom providers. By 15:00 Moscow time, the attack had been mitigated, and GRCHTS asserted that services were returning to normal operation. This timeline underscores the rapid response by network operators and monitoring authorities to a coordinated cyber event. (Source attribution: GRChTs)
Users reported difficulties with widely used platforms including Telegram, Wikipedia, Discord, and WhatsApp, with outages affecting subscribers of major providers such as Beeline, MTS, Rostelecom, and Tele2. The incident was corroborated by DownDetector data, which showed that concerns about service instability extended to neighboring regions, with reports from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan also emerging during the incident window. (Source attribution: CPM SSOP; DownDetector)
At the time this update went to press, the broader RuNet appeared to have regained stability, with services resuming typical operation levels. The incident highlighted the vulnerability of digital infrastructure to large-scale denial-of-service events and the importance of coordinated defense across telecom operators and public network monitors. (Source attribution: GRChTs)
Earlier reporting indicated that cyber actors had previously conducted mass attacks against Russian online stores in the weeks leading up to September 1, suggesting a broader campaign aimed at disrupting consumer and commerce platforms. While the specifics of those earlier attacks were not detailed in the official updates, the pattern points to persistent threats targeting e-commerce and essential communication channels. (Source attribution: GRChTs)