Panel IVb. Rebuilding Smarter: Cloud Infrastructure and Cyber Security for a Strong Ukraine’s Digital Shield

Panel IVb, chaired by Mr. Daniel Ioniță, Senior Associate Expert at the New Strategy Center in Romania, examined how cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity can strengthen Ukraine’s digital defenses. The discussion brought together Mr. Oleg Haiduk, Advisor on AI and Innovation at the PARKOVYI Data Center and former Deputy Defense Minister for Digital Development, Digital Transformation, and Digitalization of Ukraine; Mr. Volodymyr Lutchenko, Chief Technology Officer at Kyivstar; Mr. Dragoș Dima, Senior Adviser on Cybersecurity at the EUAM Ukraine; and Ms. Olga Belyakova, Co-Head of the Technology, Media and Communications sector group for Central and Eastern Europe at CMS Cameron McKenna LLC.

Immediately after the Russian invasion in February 2022, Ukraine moved its critical data to data centers within the European Union. In 2023, the strategy shifted toward developing sovereign national data centers, supported by cross-border backup solutions. This transition was enabled by accelerated legislative changes that allowed the establishment of a functional framework for cloud service provision by the end of the year. In terms of cybersecurity, key measures highlighted include the use of VPNs, the implementation of centralized access control (PAM), the adoption of multi-factor authentication, and the integration of WAF solutions. The speakers emphasized that cyber resilience must be built within a cross-border framework by linking Ukraine’s critical digital infrastructure to the security ecosystems of NATO and the European Union.