Within the framework of cooperation between the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF Global) and the National Coordination Center for Cybersecurity (NCCC) under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the National Cybersecurity Cluster was launched on February 25, 2021.
The Cluster meetings are designed to strengthen coordination and promote effective dialogue between state institutions, donor organizations and foreign embassies with the involvement of the public and the private sector.
Duncan Thomson, Regional Director of Europe and Eurasia at the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF Global), stressed the importance of cybersecurity as a tool of diplomacy and defense, which is especially relevant in conditions of a hybrid war.
Serhiy Demedyuk, Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, confirmed that the draft of Strategy will be approved and published in early March 2021, as required by the law.
Other speakers represented CRDF Global; Implementation Management Directorate of NCCC; Cybersecurity Center under the Sectoral Center for Digitalization and Cybersecurity, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine; the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES); the EU4DigitalUA Group under the e-Governance Academy (EGA) and the Development Directorate under the National Informatization Program, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.
The experts talked about their activities and presented current programs: namely cyber hygiene courses, training centers for responding to cyber threats, information exchange, educational activities for various professional and social groups, etc.
During the discussion of the speeches, Oleksandr Fedienko, Deputy Head of the Committee for Digital Transformation at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, pointed out that the Committee is responsible for cybersecurity issues in relation to all legislative initiatives within this field. Oleksandr Fedienko expressed his intention to cooperate fruitfully at the forthcoming sessions, mentioned the draft laws currently being developed by the Committee and invited all interested parties to cooperate on legislative initiatives.
The first meeting of the National Cybersecurity Cluster brought together 36 participants from 27 institutions from the state sector, international organizations and Embassies. The event was attended by representatives of the main actors of the cybersecurity domain in Ukraine: MPs, representatives of Embassies of the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Lithuania, international organizations, including USAID Ukraine, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, DAI Global and others.
For notes
Recognizing the risks associated with an increasingly interconnected digital world, in 2019 CRDF Global launched a cybersecurity improvement program in Ukraine, Moldova, and Western Balkans dedicated to preventing cyberattacks by building robust cyber infrastructures and strengthening cybersecurity workforces. This program is supported by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia (EUR/ACE).
