Major international and Ukrainian cybersecurity news in May 2023
At the initiative of the National Cybersecurity Coordination Center at the NSDC of Ukraine, Ukraine became a full member of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence (CCDCOE) as a contributing country. Another step has been taken on Ukraine's path to NATO. As a full member of the CCDCOE, Ukraine took part in a meeting of the Center's Steering Committee. The CCDCOE also conducted a training for Ukrainian cybersecurity experts on Critical Information Infrastructure.
This month, much attention was paid to the cybersecurity of the financial sector. The NCSCC has launched a training course on Vulnerability Management for Ukrainian banking sector professionals. In order to harmonize Ukrainian legislation in the field of payment services with EU legislation and strengthen its implementation, the National Bank of Ukraine has required payment service providers to apply enhanced user authentication to reduce fraud risks. The National Police of Ukraine shut down an extensive criminal network by conducting investigative actions in 20 regions of the country. The National Police, together with the FBI, dismantled a network of services for the exchange of cryptocurrency obtained through criminal means.
The European Union is further strengthening its policy of limiting foreign (non-European) presence in its market. The EU is also imposing increasingly stringent requirements on other market players as it seeks to limit the influence of Chinese companies on the deployment of the 5G network and expand international ties. New requirements for foreign cloud service providers are being formed, spending on cybersecurity research is increasing, and the EU is actively preparing to launch the European Cyber Shield program.
The United States is actively focusing on critical infrastructure security, formulating new security priorities in this area and implementing a zero-trust policy for federal agencies. The latter includes the Pentagon, which, along with the search for new cybersecurity solutions, is also working on reforming the security of internal networks. Along with the introduction of zero trust, the Pentagon is reviewing its own IT development strategy and possible dependence on a small number of suppliers.
The cybersecurity bodies of the Five Eyes alliance continue to demonstrate a high level of cooperation and coordinated efforts. In May, they published several joint materials on hostile cyber activity, deployed joint cybersecurity teams to European countries, and increased the effectiveness of joint actions.
The First World Cyber War continues, and russia is not slowing down. russian criminal syndicates are reorganizing to ensure greater efficiency. Ukrainian cybersecurity agencies are constantly warning of new cyber threats from russia, and successful operations by russian hackers abroad continue. Meanwhile, the detection of russian cyber espionage is becoming increasingly effective.
Analysts draw conclusions from the cyber component of the russian-Ukrainian war. Among the main assessments: many people underestimate cyber defense - effectively built defense is indeed capable of stopping or deterring enemy cyber activity; cyber components of conflicts will not be short-lived - they are long positional battles between the participants in the confrontation; the goals and objectives of the Transatlantic Partnership include deterring russia's ability to achieve its goals in Ukraine.
More about legislative changes, initiatives of national entities, trends, forecasts and analytical assessments, international and Ukrainian news in the field of cyber security of Ukraine at the link.