Since the start of the war, the U.S. government, European allies and private-sector companies have provided critical cyber assistance to Ukraine that allowed Kyiv to counter distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, secure cloud infrastructure and remove Russian intrusions from its networks, researchers at the nonprofit Aspen Institute said in a report on Tuesday. According to researchers, several factors contribute to this decline, including Ukraine’s successful digital resilience, perceptions of Russian cyber ineffectiveness in the cyber domain, fatigue among certain assistance providers and a lack of dedicated funding to support large-scale, systemic initiatives. Major organizations involved in providing cyber aid to Ukraine, including the Cyber Defense Assistance Collaborative (CDAC), a volunteer group drawn from Western cybersecurity companies and organizations, also face significant challenges in trying to help Ukraine. The Tallinn Mechanism, a multinational initiative, has raised over €200 million ($216 million) to bolster Ukraine’s non-military cyberdefense capacity, while IT Coalition, a group of ten European nations, promised last February to help Ukraine support its critical IT infrastructure for the next six years. Private cyber and tech companies, such as Microsoft, Cloudflare and Mandiant, have been actively supporting Ukraine’s cyberdefense efforts by providing intelligence support, software licensing and training programs. According to the Aspen Institute, there are differing opinions on whether digital and cyber support for Ukraine should focus on fixing immediate cyberdefense problems or building long-term digital strength. “As geopolitical tensions around Russia and in East Asia continue to demonstrate a growing cyber component, these lessons are crucial to help the U.S. manage crises and, if needed, successfully defend its allies and friends,” researchers said. Over the past two years, the U.S. government has delivered more than $82 million in cyber assistance to Ukraine. Despite these challenges, strong trust has developed between Ukraine and its cyber assistance providers.
This Cyber News was published on therecord.media. Publication date: Wed, 02 Apr 2025 14:30:21 +0000