At the NCCC meeting, it was decided to strengthen the security of Ukraine’s electronic communications system, its facilities and infrastructure

On 21 December 2023, a meeting of the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (the NCCC) at the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (the NSDC), which is a key body for coordination and control in the field of cybersecurity, took place.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the SSU, the Ministry of Defence, the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the State Special Communications Service, the National Police, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, intelligence agencies and the National Bank, as well as members of the Ukrainian Parliament.

During the meeting, Yurii Myronenko, Chairman of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, presented a report on the Review of the state of cyber defence of critical information infrastructure, state information resources and information required to be protected by law. The participants discussed important issues related to the creation of a system for processing big data using Big Data technologies in the interests of state security and defence, and issued relevant instructions. They considered a number of legislative cybersecurity initiatives proposed by the Security Service of Ukraine, in particular those aimed at ensuring effective counteraction to attacks on the fundamentals of Ukraine’s national security committed through cyberspace.

Bottlenecks in cyber defence of Ukraine’s electronic communications sector, which remains a top priority target for Russian-controlled hacker groups, were analysed.

The participants heard from Kyivstar management about the measures taken to strengthen the company’s cyber defences, as well as the consequences and results of the cyber attack that took place on 12 December. According to the experts, this attack was one of the largest since the beginning of the russian aggression and demonstrated the important role of cybersecurity in the context of national security, defence capability and functioning of the state, as well as the need for owners and operators of private infrastructure facilities to take a responsible stance in ensuring proper cyber security of their own systems.

A number of decisions were made in a closed session aimed at urgently strengthening the security of Ukraine’s electronic communications system, its facilities and infrastructure.

The participants also discussed the priority areas for implementing the Tallinn Mechanism and optimising international cooperation in the field of cybersecurity.

For reference: On 20 December 2023, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and ten other countries – the United Kingdom, Denmark, Estonia, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, the United States, France and Sweden – launched the Tallinn Mechanism to help strengthen Ukraine’s cyber defence and civilian cyber capabilities.