Telecom

Liberia: Cellcom sued by Lonestar Cell MTN for sabotage

Liberia: Cellcom sued by Lonestar Cell MTN for sabotage
Tuesday, 15 January 2019 17:25

Cellcom, operating under Orange after it was acquired in April 2018 by the French telecom giant, was sued by its competitor Lonestar Cell MTN on January 11, 2018.

Lonestar Cell MTN, a subsidiary of MTN Group, lodged a complaint against Cellcom, Avishai Marziano (Cellcom’s former CEO), Ran Polani (another Cellcom’s CEO) and Daniel Kaye (a hacker) at the Commercial Court of England & Wales for sabotage.

Lonestar Cell MTN’s complaint was lodged after the National Crime Agency (NCA) of England revealed that Daniel Kaye "had been hired to carry out the attacks by a senior employee at rival operator Cellcom and paid monthly".

The disclosure was made following the conviction, on January 11, 2019, of David Kaye to 32 months imprisonment by British officials for using a personalised DDoS to sabotage Lonestar Cell MTN’s infrastructures, in autumn 2016, and other targets.

The NCA estimates that "In November 2016, the traffic from Kaye’s botnet was so high in volume that it disabled internet access across Liberia. The attacks had a direct and significant impact on Lonestar’s ability to provide services to its customers, resulting in revenue loss of tens of millions in US dollars as customers left the network. Remedial action taken by Lonestar to prevent the attacks incurred costs of approximately 600,000 USD".

On the same topic
• Gabon plans joint venture to expand fiber optic network• Project targets 1,800 km extension, cost-sharing, better coverage• Moov and Airtel partnership...
• Morocco signs deal to develop a national platform for responsible AI.• Project to focus on LLMs tailored to Moroccan language, culture, and law.•...
Ghana and Togo held a joint meeting in Accra from September 9–11, 2025, to improve cross-border frequency management and prevent harmful...
Airtel Gabon, Moov sign deal to share telecom infrastructure Agreement aims to cut costs, boost coverage and service quality 1,253 villages...
Most Read
01

From Dakar to Nairobi, Kampala to Abidjan, mobile money has become a lifeline for millions of Africa...

Africa's Boundless Future: How a simple mobile phone became a pocket bank for millions
02

Nigeria’s fintech landscape has undergone a seismic shift in recent years, driven largely by persist...

In Nigerian, Bank Technology Failures Pushed OPay and PalmPay to Leadership in Daily Payments
03

• WAEMU posts 0.9% deflation in July, second month in a row• Food, hospitality prices drop; alcohol,...

WAEMU Region Records Second Straight Month of Deflation, at -0.9% in July 
04

Airtel Gabon, Moov sign deal to share telecom infrastructure Agreement aims to cut costs, boo...

Gabon’s Airtel, Moov to Share Towers Under Govt-Brokered Deal
05

• Benin’s FeexPay and Côte d’Ivoire’s Cinetpay receive BCEAO payment service licenses• Both firms ex...

WAEMU fintech industry strengthens with two new BCEAO regulatory approvals
Enter your email to receive our newsletter

Ecofin Agency provides daily coverage of nine key African economic sectors: public management, finance, telecoms, agribusiness, mining, energy, transport, communication, and education.
It also designs and manages specialized media, both online and print, for African institutions and publishers.

SALES & ADVERTISING

regie@agenceecofin.com 
Tél: +41 22 301 96 11 
Mob: +41 78 699 13 72


EDITORIAL
redaction@agenceecofin.com

More information
Team
Publisher

ECOFIN AGENCY

Mediamania Sarl
Rue du Léman, 6
1201 Geneva
Switzerland

 

Ecofin Agency is a sector-focused economic news agency, founded in December 2010. Its web platform was launched in June 2011. ©Mediamania.

 
 

Please publish modules in offcanvas position.