Ukraine Cybersecurity Assistance

The State Department earlier this year announced that the U.S. would give Ukraine $8 million in cybersecurity assistance funds as part of a “cyber dialogue” held in Kyiv between officials from the two countries. The $8 million will go toward funding a new cybersecurity project sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with the project setting a goal of eventually investing $38 million over the next four years in boosting Ukraine’s cybersecurity capabilities, including through cyber workforce development and regulatory reforms.

Ukraine has been under frequent cyber attacks by external hackers in the wake of the conflict in the east. According to a study published in 2018 by British tech research firm Comparitech, it is one of the least cyber secure countries. The study claims Ukraine to be the 10th least cyber-secure out of 60 countries researched — slightly more secure than Iran, and slightly less than Nigeria. In 2018, about 28 percent of Ukrainian computers and 11 percent of phones were infected with malware.

The major cybersecurity issues in Ukraine:
•    Inefficient legislation and management system
•    Low level of cyber-attack response 
•    Lack of public and private partnership 
•    Poor quality of threat intelligence and cyber audits

Recently, Ukraine has signed several international treaties, undertaking the responsibility to provide a secure cyberspace. By signing these treaties, Ukraine promised to adhere to certain standards and to implement them in the legislation. Although Ukraine is not a member of the EU and therefore has not signed the NIS Directive, Ukrainian authorities are aware of its provisions and requirements and, as such, have reflected them to some extent in national legislation and cybersecurity systems. 

Opportunities for U.S. companies:
•    Consulting in cybersecurity systems for critical infrastructure objects 
•    Consulting in information security costs optimization
•    Training and education services

For more information contact office.kyiv@trade.gov.