On February 7-8, the capital of Ukraine hosted Kyiv International Cyber Resilience Forum 2024, focusing on the theme "Resilience at the Cyber War".

 This time it brings together representatives of the government and business, the cyber community, technological companies, and leading experts in the industry.

The forum was opened by Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. He mentioned during his speech that digitalized world needs serious cyber protection and emphasized that the implementation of the Ukrainian digital policy possesses great importance for the national stability of Ukraine, especially during the war with the russian federation, when the high degree of digitalization of the country aids to overcome the challenges associated with aggression. Also Oleksii Danilov announced the following development of cyber diplomacy. “I think we will definitely soon have a position called a cyber diplomat, as it is a very important direction in the global fight for security”.

Guests were greeted during the official opening ceremony by:

Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister for Innovations, Development of Education, Science & Technologies — Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Anton Demokhin, Deputy Foreign Minister, Chief Digital Transformation Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Kateryna Chernohorenko, Deputy Minister Of Defense Of Ukraine For Digital Development, Digital Transformations And Digitization, Michael Dignam, CEO of CRDF Global.

“Despite the ongoing war in cyberspace and in real space, we should advance two ideas. The first is resilience, the very subject of the forum that brings us together here. Resilience reflects the strength and flexibility of a society in the face of adversity. Ukraine has shown the world what it means to be resilient in the face of cyber attacks and disruptions of connectivity, and we welcome the opportunity to continue learning from you. The second idea is digital solidarity. Threats and adversity in cyberspace present us with unique opportunities and a sense of urgency to stand together with partners and allies, to build and strengthen connections, to go it together, to be united with Ukraine.” — emphasized Nathaniel Fick, Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy, U.S. Department of State.

Also, representatives of the international cyber community spoke at the stage of the Kyiv International Cybersecurity Forum, including: Joanneke Balfoort, Director for Security and Defence policy, European External Action Service; Juhan Lepassaar, Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA); Mart Noorma, Director of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE); Jen Easterly, Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

The two-day program of the Forum included 10 panel discussions and over 35 expert speeches covering a wide range of topics, including: the role of cybersecurity in modern warfare, Ukraine's experience in cyber warfare, cyber warfare and international law, cyber diplomacy, enhancing the resilience of national cybersecurity systems through education, messenger security, the role of cyber threat intelligence, cybersecurity in regions, and others.

During the Forum a two-day Capture the Flag cybersecurity competition took place. Twenty-one teams participated, totaling 121 experts from both the public and private sectors. According to the competition scenario, each team had to complete six complex tasks simulating real attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.  At the end of the second day, the organizers and judges determined three winners (1st place: Team #dotxyz, 2nd place: Team Pspatron, 3rd place: Team Gos), who received certificates for online professional development courses and winner's trophies.

At the event, the meeting between the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), the National Coordination Center for Cybersecurity (NCSCC), and the State Special Communications Service of Ukraine (SSSCIP) took place. Following the conducted consultations, a working plan for cooperation for the next two years was agreed upon. The document contains over 20 specific steps aimed at supporting Ukraine on its path to EU membership, harmonizing legislation in the field of cybersecurity, exchanging experts, and more.

Kyiv International Cyber Resilience Forum 2024, representatives of the Tallinn Mechanism also convened. They issued a joint statement representing all participating states of the Tallinn Mechanism, which was established on December 20, 2023, and supported by Ukraine, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The mechanism aims to coordinate efforts among parties and facilitate the development of cybersecurity capabilities, all to assist Ukraine in defending itself from Russian aggression in cyberspace and meeting long-term cyber resilience needs.

"As destructive Russian cyber operations and cyber activities are expected to persist in the near future, the partners of the Tallinn Mechanism are prepared to continue their support for as long as necessary," the statement explained.

The organizing team of the Forum continues to plan and work on the development of the project, aiming to make this event a powerful annual platform for discussing cybersecurity resilience issues.

Let us remind you, that the event is initiated by the National Coordination Center for Cybersecurity of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) Global. The Forum was supported by the U.S. Department of State.

KICRF was joined by the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Technological partners include Cyber Unit Technologies and the Institute of Cyber Warfare Research.

Technological partners: Cyber Unit Technologies and the Institute of Cyber Warfare Research (ICWR).
Partners: Kóryos, Bakotech, Brave1, DC8044, CyberDiia, USF, Cyberlab.UA, UnderDefence, BugStream, Voda.ua.

General Media Partners: MC.today and ITC.UA.
Informational Partners: Interfax-Ukraine, Ukraine Business News, АрміяInform and SPEKA.

To learn more about Kyiv International Cyber Resilience Forum 2024, please follow the link  cyberforumkyiv.org

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