The European Union has financed and delivered equipment for a cyber lab, security software and hardware to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as part of its ongoing support to Ukraine under the European Peace Facility, a statement by the bloc’s foreign policy arm, the European External Action Service said.
The cyber lab was unveiled in Kyiv on December 2.
With this support, Ukraine can build and further develop the cyber defence capacities of its armed forces to detect intrusions to the information systems, deal with cyberattacks and strengthen their overall capacity in the cybersecurity area, the statement said.
On December 15 2021, the EU adopted an assistance measure under the European Peace Facility to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces worth €31 million, including on cyber defence. The cyber defence assistance will support the Communication and Cyber Security Command of Ukraine with the provision of a cyber-lab and the provision of security software and hardware.
A cyber lab is an exercising and researching environment composed of several virtual and physical components. It can be used to represent realistic scenarios for training to advance the hands-on skills of military cyber defence professionals. Cyber lab technology enables the user to generate a realistic virtual environment which requires trainees to respond to cyberattack and defence simulations in real-time.
Within the simulated network, the officials of the Ukrainian Armed Forces can learn to cope under high levels of stress, locating and exploring vulnerabilities on various network systems. A cyber lab and the improved network security help the Ukrainian military to develop the skills to identify, monitor and resist cyberattacks.
