Major international and Ukrainian cybersecurity news for the last quarter of 2023

The global competition between the United States and China in the digital space continues. Chinese artillery groups are stepping up cyber-espionage operations against both government organizations and the private sector. The RAND Corporation in its research indicates that the competition between the United States and China for digital infrastructure will be crucial for military forces and operations in the region. At the same time, China is expanding its strategic goals and showing more interest in critical infrastructure.

Threats to critical infrastructure are a constant element of the overall cyber threat landscape. Such organizations continue to be a desirable target for attackers because they have the funds and cannot afford business interruption. Although most of the attacks are on the IT systems of such organizations through ransomware (75% of organizations in the industrial sector were attacked by ransomware last year), it still affects the core functions of organizations - timely delivery, customer interaction, etc.

The development of international cooperation remains an important vector of activity. In November 2023, Ukraine (the NCSCC and the SSSCIP) signed a Working Agreement on Cooperation with ENISA (the European Cyber Security Agency). This is the first agreement for ENISA with a partner from outside the EU. The signing of such documents is an important element in the formation of a global cyber coalition to counter threats emanating from russia and other states that stand on the same side as the aggressor.

In October-November 2023, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies managed to conduct several successful operations against international groups of cybercriminals. The practical contribution to countering this threat contributes to further building trust between Ukraine and partner countries, as well as encourages the launch of more systematic joint measures to combat cybercrime.

Owners of industrial systems are often inattentive to cyber threats, and vulnerabilities to such systems are emerging more frequently. During the reporting quarter, CISA (open source recommendations for OT security, as well as regular notifications of new vulnerabilities) and NSA (publication of the OT Intrusion Detection Signature and Analytics repository) issued cybersecurity recommendations on various aspects of operational technology (OT) cybersecurity.

Read more about legislative changes, initiatives of national actors, trends, forecasts and analytical assessments, international and Ukrainian news in the field of cybersecurity in Ukraine:

You can also read a summary of international and Ukrainian news for the last quarter of 2023 by following the links:

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