A large-scale hackathon for critical infrastructure workers is being held in Ukraine for the first time

On April 27, Deputy to the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Serhiy Demedyuk opened the first online hackathon for Ukrainian specialists in Ukraine.

Nearly half a hundred participants from organizations responsible for cybersecurity of objects of critical infrastructure will refine their skills in three days and test new methods for systems security and common incident response.

The event has been organized by the National Coordination Center for Cybersecurity under the NSDC of Ukraine and the CRDF Global Ukraine Foundation. The main goal of the exercise is to streamline the development of effective cyberdefense systems for critical infrastructure and government agencies. Mr. Demedyuk noted that practical training of IT specialists is an integral part of improving the national cybersecurity system.

“I can say that this hackathon became the first in Ukraine to gather together representatives of almost all objects of critical infrastructure of our country. I am convinced that the result of the three-day work will give a good impetus to enhance the protection of the state systems”, - Mr. Demedyuk emphasized.

The hackathon participants will work in groups. The practical part of the seminar will be held in a specially created virtual laboratory, where real cyberattack scenarios will be applied. Teams will be evaluated by independent experts. The main evaluation criterion will be the group’s effectiveness in countering the threat.

On April 29, when the hackathon is finished, the participants and organizers will discuss the prospects for practical application of the best technical and organizational measures tested during the exercise.