Various online news sources stated that the Ukrainian government has asked for help from the European Union to fight against cyberattacks and disinformation from Russia. Ukraine requested an EU cyber rapid response team to evaluate the vulnerabilities in the key computer networks and systems. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote a letter to the EU leaders requesting additional technical equipment and software for strengthening the cybersecurity infrastructure to protect it against Russian aggression.
Cyber Rapid Response Team
In February, the Ukrainian government announced that they were targeted by cybercriminals. Cyber Rapid Response Team includes 10 national cybersecurity experts from six countries including, Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, and Romania. The team, a part of the EU’s defense cooperation program PESCO, focuses on providing assistance against cyberattacks.
Margiris Abukevičius, vice minister at the Ministry of National Defence in Lithuania stated that the six member states decided to activate the team. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also stated that will send a mission of experts to help Ukraine to face cyberattacks after his meeting with Kuleba. This is not the first time that the country is facing cyberattacks. Since 2014, Ukraine faced various attacks during the election days and some of the attacks targeted the country’s energy grids.