Strengthening cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity is one of the key areas for strengthening Ukraine’s “digital shield” in the context of the ongoing war, according to participants in the panel discussion “Rebuilding Smarter: Cloud Infrastructure and Cyber Security for a Strong Ukraine’s Digital Shield” at the “Rebuilding Ukraine: Security, Opportunities, Investments” forum in Bucharest.

The panel was moderated by Daniel Ionita, senior associate expert at the New Strategy Center (Romania). The discussion was joined by Oleg Haiduk, advisor on AI and innovation at the PARKOVY data center and former Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for Digital Development; Volodymyr Luchenko, technical director at Kyivstar; Dragos Dima, senior cybersecurity advisor at the EU Mission for Civilian Security Sector Reform in Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine) and Olga Belyakova, co-head of technology, media, and communications practice at CMS Cameron McKenna LLC in Central and Eastern Europe.

According to the speakers, immediately after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, Ukraine transferred critical data arrays to data centers in the EU. By 2023, the strategy had been transformed towards the creation of sovereign national data centers with support for cross-border backup solutions. This transition was made possible by accelerated legislative changes, which by the end of the year provided a functional regulatory framework for the provision of cloud services.

In the field of cybersecurity, the key measures, according to the panel participants, are the widespread use of VPN solutions, the introduction of centralized access management (PAM), the use of multi-factor authentication, and the integration of WAF-class solutions to protect web resources. “This is not just about technical means, but about building a comprehensive architecture of trust – from the user to state registries and critical infrastructure,” said Haiduk.

The experts emphasized that Ukraine’s cyber resilience must be built in a cross-border format—through the integration of critical digital infrastructure into NATO and EU security systems, joint incident response protocols, and the exchange of threat data. “The more closely Ukraine’s digital infrastructure is integrated into the Euro-Atlantic security ecosystem, the more difficult it will be to isolate or paralyze it as a result of cyberattacks,” Belyakova emphasized.

Following the discussion, participants concluded that the development of national data centers, the expansion of cloud services, and the synchronization of cyber defense standards with NATO and the EU are necessary conditions not only for the security of the public sector, but also for the stable functioning of business and the implementation of reconstruction projects.

The forum “Rebuilding Ukraine: Security, Opportunities, Investments” is being held on December 11-12 in Bucharest under the auspices of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is organized by the New Strategy Center. According to the organizers, more than 30 panel discussions and parallel sessions are planned over two days with the participation of representatives of governments, international organizations, the private sector, financial institutions, and experts from Europe, North America, and Asia. The topics of the panels cover security and defense, infrastructure, financing and investment, green energy, digitalization, human capital, and cross-border cooperation.

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Last modified: 12 Грудня, 2025