Broadcast Date: Thursday, April 20 at 12:30 p.m.

Registration Link for the “Cyber Update from Ukraine’s Frontlines” Webinar

Webinar Description: The Security Service of Ukraine is the country’s law enforcement and counterintelligence authority and main counterintelligence and security service. In this webinar, SBU’s Cyber Chief, Illia Vitiuk, will talk about key lessons learned in defending against Russian cyber aggression for the past decade, how it corresponds to Russian kinetic actions, and how Ukraine is leveraging its cyber talent to shore up defenses while being more proactive in countering its digital adversaries.

Featured Speaker: Illia Vitiuk, Chief of the SSU Cyber Security Department, Ukraine

Moderator: Tom Billington, Founder & CEO, Billington CyberSecurity

Speaker Bio

Illia Vitiuk was born in the Kyiv region of Ukraine. In 2009, he graduated with honors from the National Academy of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and received a diploma in the specialty of Law. He has been working in the SSU since 2009. In 2012, he graduated with honors from Kyiv National Economic University in the specialty of International Economics. In November 2021, Illia was appointed as the Head of the Department of Cyber and Information Security of the SSU.

Proposed Questions

1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself, your career, and how you came to be the head of SSU’s Cyber Department?
2. So, I know you have been quite busy the past couple of years in addressing Russia aggression both before and during its invasion of your country. I believe it is fair to say that the world has been very impressed by your country’s ability to stand up against Russian aggression both militarily and as it relates to cyber. What do you think is behind your success in countering Russia’s cyber army to date?
3. How has Russian cyber aggression changed as the war continues and how do you see it continuing to change over the next six months to a year?
4. Your country worked very fast to build both your defense force and a counter cyber army. How did you work to mobilize this effort and what were the key ingredients to building it so quickly?
5. Ukraine is now considering legalizing its volunteer cyber army. What is your current thinking about how to incorporate this volunteer team into a reserve cyber cadre and how to plan on continuing to build it and leveraging it when needed?
6. An incredible but sometimes overlooked success story during the conflict is the way that your country has been able to stay ahead of and counter Russian information operations and disinformation campaigns. What do you see are the key ingredients that you have found to be able to stay ahead of this war of words?
7. How does your country plan on leveraging all the cybersecurity experience garnered during the conflict as you move beyond the war and get back to running a vibrant and energized population?
8. What would you say are the 3-4 most critical things that the US and other allies can do to continue to best help you in defending your country?