Ukraine’s cyber chief says Kyiv is winning ‘world’s first cyberwar’
For Ukraine’s main cybersecurity agency, Russia’s full-scale war began over a month before Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine from all directions – with a large cyber attack on Jan. 14, 2022.
“It all started with an attack on state authorities, it was the largest attack in 17 years,” says Yurii Shchyhol, head of the State Special Communications Service, which is responsible for defending Ukraine’s cyberspace.
Shchyhol says over 90 government websites were targeted, about 20 of them were defaced, and some data was erased. It took Ukrainian authorities 2-3 days to get those websites back up.
“This was the first indication for us that (Russia) was planning something big,” he adds.
The month leading up to the full-scale invasion, Ukraine experienced several major cyberattacks – on Feb. 15 and Feb. 22.
By the time Russia launched its full-scale war, Ukraine was ready to face Kremlin’s cyberwarfare, taking place alongside the ground offensive.
The 7,500 employees of the Special Communications Service are now in charge of protecting Ukraine from cyberattacks, ensuring the military and political communication is secure, and conducting online operations to hamper Russia’s war effort.
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The agency has also created a database of critical infrastructure, and coordinates its defense.
“There has never been such a war in history,” Shchyhol, who took charge of the agency in 2021, says. “It is the world’s first cyberwar in general, and there is no country in the world (except Ukraine) with this experience.”
He adds that Ukraine has faced around 20 cyberattacks per day since February 2022, with most of them deterred automatically, while some requiring timely intrusions by the agency.
In the 16 months since the start of the full–scale war, Shchyhol says Ukraine hasn’t lost any critical information, nor were any major systems downed.
Shchyhol says the agency is now drawing up a list of sanctions and laws required to stop Russia from being able to conduct cyberwarfare.
“Even after our victory on the ground, we understand that the cyberwar will not cease, and they will persist in attacking our systems,”…
