Ukrainian President Petr Poroshenkowill has approved a new draft cyber-security strategy for the country.
Poroshenko's official spokesman told SCMagazineUK.com that the need for appoval of the strategy became acute due to a significant increase in the number of cyber-attacks on Ukraine's critical IT and social infrastructure in recent months.
The new strategy involves the design and approval of new standards for Ukranian cyber-security that comply with European Union and NATO standards, as well as the acceleration of R&D activities in the sector.
The strategy also involves expansion of international cyber-security cooperation, with implementation of the strategy coming under control of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council.
Approval of the new strategy is intended to help avoid repetition of hacker attacks on the country's energy facilities, similar to those which took place at the end of last year on Prykarpattyaoblenergo, one of the largest energy providers in Western Ukraine which resulted in an energy blockade of 220,000 of Ukranian electricity consumers.
An investigation of the Ukranian Prosecutors Office reports that the cyber-attacks involved hackers based in Russia. The attacks entailed infecting computers at the energy companies with the BlackEnergy virus.
A spokesman of Vasily Gritsak, head of the Ukranian State Security Service, said that there is still a high threat of cyber-attacks on Ukrane's nuclear power plants, airports, railway system and other important infrastructure.
Management at strategically import infrastructure will be required to set up special cyber-units comprising certified IT-security specialists who focus on the prevention of cyber-attacks.
The Ukranian armed forces will also establish a special cyber-defence unit .
The Ukranian government has also announced that it will no longer purchase software and IT technology from Russian companies, and in particular Kaspersky Lab; the decision is also reportedly attributed to Kaspersky Anti-Virus systems failing to detect a cyber-attack on crucial state web-resources during the recent Presidential elections in Ukraine, posing a threat of disruption of elections.
The new strategy also involves the Ukranian National Bank drawign up new cyber-security standards for Ukraine's banking and financial sectors.
