US allocates more than $5 million to Ukraine for cyber security
The United States will allocate more than $5 million to Ukraine to increase Kyiv's ability to prevent cyber-attacks. This was announced in a joint statement on the first bilateral dialogue between the US and Ukraine on cyber security, UNIAN news agency reports.
"In support of the US commitment to support cyber security in Ukraine, U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch said that the United States would allocate over $5 million as part of a new assistance program on cyber security, aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s capabilities to prevent, level the influence of, and respond to cyber-attacks," notes the statement.
US diplomats stressed that the talks helped strengthen bilateral cooperation on cyber security issues at the intergovernmental level. The meeting participants discussed the possibilities of protecting critical infrastructure and military systems, as well as exchanged views on enhancing the credibility of cyber security within the OSCE.
"Both sides have also confirmed their readiness to maintain an open, shared, reliable and secure Internet. They have also expressed general concern that the most serious malicious actions in the field of cyber activities have the potential to undermine the peace, prosperity and stability of the international community," says the statement.
The US delegation was headed by the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Cybersecurity for the White House, Joshua Steinman. Along with him came Robert Strayer, who is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Cyber and International Communications and Information Policy, and Michele Markoff, Deputy Coordinator for Cyber Issues at the US Department of State.
Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko was included in the Ukrainian delegation, in addition to representatives from the National Bank of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Security Service.
A massive cyber-attack occurred in Ukraine In June 2017. As a result of the attack, several Ukrainian banks, including Oschadbank, encountered issues. Work difficulties also arose at several companies: Ukrenergo, DTEK and Kyivenergo. In addition, the Ukrainian Government’s computer networks were disabled. Anton Gerashchenko, who is a member of the board of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and an MP in the Verkhovna Rada, has called the cyber-attack "the largest in the history" of the country. He has accused the Russian Special Services of organizing cyber-attacks.