NCSCC held two-day cybersecurity competition INCIDENT RESPONSE DAYS
On June 12-13, 2023, the National Cybersecurity Coordination Center at the NSDC of Ukraine and CRDF Global in Ukraine, with the support of the US Department of State, held a two-day cyber competition INCIDENT RESPONSE DAYS. More than a hundred specialized public sector professionals organized into 19 teams took part in the competition.
INCIDENT RESPONSE DAYS is an event that combined cybersecurity competitions and training in cyber operations, cyber incident response and forensics. For 6 hours, participants worked in a unique scenario, investigated incidents, collected artifacts, and analyzed malware.
"Cyber warfare began long before a full-scale military invasion. Ukraine survived, demonstrating its unity and resilience to russian hackers and the whole world. But the threat has not diminished, and we must be prepared for the worst-case scenario. That is why the NCSCC constantly conducts events to improve the skills of public and private sector professionals. After all, it is thanks to the knowledge of Ukrainian cyber warriors that we can both protect our country in cyberspace and inflict an asymmetric response to the aggressor country," said Head of the Information Security and Cybersecurity Service of the Staff of NSDC of Ukraine, the NCSCC Secretary Natalia Tkachuk, opening the event.
For the first time, a new generation Ukrainian cyber training ground developed by Cyber Unit Technologies was used to perform tasks during INCIDENT RESPONSE DAYS. Participants were also trained in the safe use of artificial intelligence technologies, digital forensics, and cyber threat information sharing practices.
CRDF Global's Chief Operating Officer in Ukraine Mykhailo Verich noted that cybersecurity skills and knowledge are one of the most valuable investments we can make today.
"Highly qualified specialists are an integral part of the successful fight against cyber threats. CRDF Global will continue to support such events, because only together we can make Ukraine's cyberspace safer and more resilient to threats," he emphasized.
The main goal of the event is to improve the qualifications and practical skills of cybersecurity professionals by performing tasks as close to real incidents as possible. The winners of INCIDENT RESPONSE DAYS are as follows:
June 12: first place - Netflix & Chill team of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, second place - DNAcademy team of the National Academy of the Security Service of Ukraine, third place - CyberSafe team of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
June 13: first place - dotXYZ team of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. The second place was taken by the team of the Military Institute of Telecommunications and Informatization csd33, and the third place by the team of the National Guard of Ukraine Gvardiya.
It is worth noting the high level of training of students and cadets of specialized educational institutions, as their teams won prizes at the competition. This demonstrates the strong human resources potential of Ukraine's national cybersecurity system.
Cyber Unit Technologies and CyberLab were the technological partners of the event.
Yegor Aushev, CEO of Cyber Unit Technologies, noted that the Ukrainian cyber range has more than 150 scenarios that simulate attacks and defense in cyberspace.
"UnitRange is the first cyber range in Ukraine that is as clear as possible and has a simple interface in Ukrainian. It was created during russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine so that specialists from the public and private sectors could practice practical skills that will accelerate our victory in cyber warfare," he said.