Cybersecurity is a top priority to protect critical IT infrastructure in war-torn country
UkraineNow.org, a nonprofit organization that helps feed, clothe and house refugees from the Russian war, is now going to help protect Ukraine's cybersecurity infrastructure from attacks and malware. Russian cybercriminals have been targeting energy and IT providers with destructive viruses that have deleted data and disabled computers, according to Reuters.
UkraineNow is expanding its mission on the ground to cyberspace by pursuing robust partnerships with western donors and IT security companies like Yubico which works with the digital security company Hideez in Ukraine to protect IT infrastructure with stronger login credentials.
"I am very excited to support this collaboration and bring more to it through our network of volunteers and private companies that are ready to support the work of Hideez on the ground,” said Artur Kiulian, founder of UkraineNow.org.
“We need to stop Russia from destroying computer systems, satellite modems, and networks which are interrupting personal, business, and government communications.” Kiulian recently met with Yubico and Hideez and agreed to support their collaboration with donations, volunteers, and connections that may lead to faster implementation of Yubico's security keys.
In March, Hideez asked Yubico to help protect and restore cybersecurity in Ukraine. When the war started, much of the Hideez team decided to stay in Ukraine to lend their expertise, products, and services to the most targeted Ukraine entities and IT systems.
Yubico lent technical support and donated 30,000 YubiKeys, to stop hackers from taking over accounts. To date, about 20,000 YubiKeys have been deployed to a dozen government agencies and companies providing critical infrastructure, including:
To deploy the remaining 10,000 YubiKeys to the critical infrastructure in Ukraine, Hideez needs immediate, additional funding of $60,000 to cover the salaries of its 15-person team that conducts the deployment work on the ground.
If Hideez receives more than $60,000, these funds will allow Hideez to deploy additional YubiKeys to several government agencies that have already requested them. Additional funds would also be used for purchasing rugged computers and other IT equipment needed by the Hideez team and Ukraine government agencies.
"We want Ukraine to be a prime example of how to build a strong and effective cyber defense. Strong, phishing resistant, authentication is a core for securing account"
Oleg Naumenko, CEO of Hideez said.
