Ukraine and Estonia to deepen cooperation in the cybersecurity sphere

On August 3, this year, delegation of the National Coordination Center for Cybersecurity at the NSDC of Ukraine paid a working visit to the Republic of Estonia, during which a number of bilateral meetings were held to develop cooperation between Ukraine and Estonia in the cybersecurity sphere.

The delegation included Head of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine Yuriy Shchyhol, Head of the Information Security and Cybersecurity Service of the Staff of NSDC of Ukraine Natalia Tkachuk, Deputy Head of the Information Security and Cybersecurity Service, Head of the National Coordination Center for Cybersecurity at the NSDC of Ukraine Serhiy Prokopenko.

During the meeting with Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence of Estonia Kusti Salm, the parties discussed ways to deepen practical cooperation between Ukraine and Estonia in the cybersecurity sphere.

In particular, the parties exchanged views on the prospects of involving Ukraine in the work of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), based in Tallinn.

On behalf of Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov, the Ukrainian side made an official request to join the CCDCOE.
According to Ms. Tkachuk, such a step is relevant in the context of Ukraine’s course to join the North Atlantic Alliance. “Ukraine's involvement in the CCDCOE can be an important step towards full NATO membership”, - she said.

The Head of the Information Security and Cybersecurity Service of the Staff of NSDC of Ukraine stressed that given the experience gained in countering Russian cyberattacks, the involvement of Ukrainian specialists in CCDCOE will have a positive impact on its effectiveness. Also, according to her, this will help strengthen the capabilities of Ukraine’s national cybersecurity system.

The parties stressed that an effective step towards Ukraine’s accession to CCDCOE can be the involvement of Ukrainian experts in the work of CCDCOE thematic branches.

In his turn, Mr. Salm assured of the readiness of the Estonian side to promote Ukraine’s inclusion in CCDCOE.

Undersecretary at the Ministry of Defence of Estonia Margus Matt noted that Ukraineєs experience in countering Russian cyber-attacks is of considerable interest to NATO. Mr. Matt also added that Estonia would continue to support Ukraine in its Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

During the meeting with Chief of Staff, Acting Director of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence Franz Lantenhammer, the Ukrainian delegation got acquainted with the Center’s practical experience.

Ms. Tkachuk stressed that “acquiring the CCDCOE membership will be of great practical value for both Ukraine and NATO member states”. “We are ready to share the experience gained over 7 years of fighting Russia’s hybrid aggression”, - she added.

During the visit, the NCCC delegation also met with Chief Executive Officer at the CR14 Cyber Training Center Raimo Peterson.
Moreover, the Ukrainian delegation also visited Milrem Robotics, where it met with its CEO Kuldar Vaarsi, as well as with representatives of leading Estonian cybersecurity companies and developers of intelligent state border protection systems – CyberExer, Cybernetica, and Defsecintel.