FORTUNE+ VIDEO SPONSORED CONTENTS ADVERTORIALS FORTUNE AUDIO Fortune Careers TRADE AFRICA Election 2026 New TIME REMAINING UNTIL ETHIOPIA’S NATIONAL ELECTION 0Days 0Hours 0Minutes 0Seconds

Fortune Logo

Ethio Telecom Claims Regional Operations in Meqelle Tampered With

Dec 10 , 2020

Footage has been released by Ethio telecom today depicting what looks like armed forces pushing themselves into the compound of the company’s core office in Meqelle, the seat of Tigray Regional State, on November 4, 2020. In the footage, personnel of Ethio telecom are forced out, and it further shows armed militia turning off the power distribution sources.

Footage from the CCTV, which was functional only until November 4, was shared by the company’s CEO, Frehiwot Tamiru, at a press conference this morning at Skylight Hotel. The findings came after a physical examination of the core site following the federal government resuming control of Meqelle city, according to the CEO.

"We took steps to ascertain security immediately after notification following the law enforcement operations," said Frehiwot. "We weren't able to explain until today."

The region is one of 17 regional classifications under the operational infrastructure of the company outside of Addis Abeba. Communications lines in the regional state were completely cut off following the conflict that broke out between the federal government and Tigray Regional State on November 4, 2020.

Frehiwot also added that the system was turned off completely wit no alarms beforehand and no way to ascertain developments at the site.

“We were confused,” she said. “To have a blackout that put us in a crisis and have no alarms set off.”

The cyberattack has been attempted on multiple government organisations, according to the CEO.

These include denial of service and unauthorized access on educational, media and finance systems among others. Nearly three billion attacks were attempted on a daily average, according to her presentation.

Log sheets from the company show that illegal attempts to infiltrate the system were made on November 8, and attempts were partially successful on November 20, that made telecom services somewhat possible, according to Frehiwot.

Currently the country’s sole telecom operator, Ethio telecom is working with the interim government and security apparatus to restore and repair the infrastructure.

Alamata has full restoration of telecom services, while six other cities like Mai-Kadra and Humera are partially restored. Staff reachability and transmission outage have been mentioned by the CEO as obstacles of restoration so far.

Put your comments here

N.B: A submit button will appear once you fill out all the required fields.



Related Posts

Share This Post
Linkedin
Google+


Most read

Latest News

Editor's pick

Commentaries

The Political Class Bet on Mega-projects, Pushed State Banks to the Brink

Ethiopia's developmental state experiment was less a model of economic discipline tha...

Taking Women Farmers Seriously

As the war in Iran disrupts fertiliser supplies and undermines food security around the world, the need t...

Fineline

Leaders of the National . . .

Leaders of the National Election Board are in a charm offensive mood, of a sort. Last week, they organised a rare tour for members of the me...

When the country’s most. . .

When the country's most senior diplomats and envoys return back to their posts after two-week debriefings, they leave behind a point or two...

Editorial

Mistaking Development Theatre for Public Trust Has a Cost

May 30 , 2026

Tomorrow, millions of Ethiopians are expected to vote in the seventh national electio...

Tax Push Tests How Much Pain Taxpayers Can Bear

May 23 , 2026

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team has spent weeks in Addis Abeba conducting t...

T-Bills Trap Begins in the Federal Government's Own Budget

May 16 , 2026

The federal budget tells a troubling story about inflation, debt and reform. The prob...

Every Encounter with the State Should Not Become an Invoice

May 9 , 2026

The Ethiopian state appears to have discovered a fiscal instrument that is politicall...

Gallery

Parliament Approves New Cabinet Members

Oct 6 , 2021

Parliament Approves New Cabinet, Incorporates Opposition Leaders Lawmakers have approved today the nominations of 22 ministers, including three opposition leaders. Two MPs have voted against, while 12 abstained...

2020 in Posterity

Jan 5 , 2021

TIGRAY VOTES DESPITE "NULL & VOID" THREAT

Sep 9 , 2020

IN-PICTURE: LAUREATE'S RECEPTION  

Dec 14 , 2019

PM Abiy Ahmed (PhD) at a Gala Dinner Called for the Awarding of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize

May 6 , 2019

Faces, Voices of Addis Abeba

Apr 26 , 2019

Sunday With Eden

When Ordinary Lives Rewrite Poverty

There are moments in life that leave people changed forever. A few days ago, I attended a conference at a religious inst...

A Ball, A Father, A Life-time of Memory

Football was never merely a game in our household. It was ritual, language and affect...

Life Matters

Beyond the Scoreline, How Foreign Football Becomes Local Identity

The recent celebrations in Addis Abeba following Arsenal's success were, to put it bl...

When Problem-Solving Fails Because the Shape Looks Different

We like to think of ourselves as pattern-recognition machines. From the moment the da...