When a telecommunications operator serving millions of clients across multiple countries faces a nation-state cyberattack that wipes thousands of servers and disables service during wartime, recovery demands more than technical remediation. The attack on Kyivstar exposed critical vulnerabilities in session management and access controls while demonstrating how artificial intelligence-enabled phishing campaigns bypass traditional MFA defenses through session hijacking. The massive operational and financial impact underscored the urgency of moving beyond compliance-focused security toward operational resilience grounded in strict tier-based access models and cultural transformation.

Effective incident response requires addressing both technical controls and human vulnerabilities that sophisticated attackers exploit at scale.

In this session, VEON Group Cyber Security and IT Director Johan Huijgen will share:

• How session replay attacks compromise systems without stealing credentials or triggering conventional detection mechanisms;
• Implementing Microsoft's three-tier access model with hardened devices and hardware tokens across geographically dispersed teams;
• How to build user awareness programs that transform employees from security liabilities into active defenders against AI-powered social engineering.