Ukraine and Slovenia enhance cooperation to strengthen Europe's cyber resilience

On Tuesday, 22 October, Head of the Information Security and Cybersecurity Service of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, Secretary of the National Coordination Centre for Cybersecurity Nataliia Tkachuk, together with representatives of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, held a working meeting with representatives of cybersecurity government agencies of Slovenia. The event was held as part of the Slovenian delegation's visit to Ukraine and is an important step in the development of bilateral relations between the countries in the field of cybersecurity.

The Ukrainian side briefed its colleagues on the structure and functioning of the National Cybersecurity System, the landscape of cyber threats to Ukraine, and shared its experience in successfully combating Russian hybrid aggression. Slovenian representatives highly appreciated Ukraine's unique experience in countering information and cyber attacks by the aggressor country, stressing its importance for the whole of Europe.

Both sides agreed on the need to further strengthen cooperation by signing a Memorandum of Cooperation, which will be an important step towards strengthening joint efforts to combat cyber threats. Special attention was paid to the exchange of practical experience between experts from Ukraine and Slovenia. Such interaction will increase the level of preparedness for effective response to cyber incidents and strengthen the cyber resilience of both countries.

‘Ukraine is at the forefront of the fight against unprecedented hybrid threats, and our experience in countering russian aggression is invaluable for the security of the whole of Europe. Cooperation with Slovenia allows us not only to share knowledge, but also to increase the level of collective security by strengthening our cyber resilience and the resilience of our partners’, said Nataliia Tkachuk, Head of the Information Security and Cyber Security Service, Secretary of the NCCC.

Also, during the meeting, Serhii Prokopenko, Head of the NCCC's Operations Support Department, presented to his Slovenian colleagues the key steps Ukraine is taking to strengthen cybersecurity amid constant attacks by russian hackers. He noted that these attacks are complex in nature, targeting government agencies, military and critical infrastructure.

The parties discussed the organisation of the third International Cybersecurity Cluster under the auspices of the NCCC in November 2024 in Ljubljana (Slovenia). The main topic of the event will be a rethinking of the Ukrainian experience of cyber warfare and its use in the development of strategies of the Balkan region and Europe as a whole to increase collective cyber resilience.