Solutions to win: Ukraine’s digital ministry and USAID will finance $500,000 worth of startups in the field of cyber defense

The Ministry of Digital Transformation, together with the USAID project, is launching grants for the development of cybersecurity startups.

The press service of the ministry reports this on Telegram, Rubryka writes.

What is the problem?

According to British intelligence, Russia continues to use cyber capabilities, including hacker attacks and malicious software, to support its invasion of Ukraine.

What is the solution?

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has allocated a grant of $500,000 to Ukraine for the implementation of innovative projects in the field of cyber security.

"If you have an idea that will strengthen Ukraine in the cyber war, get funds for its implementation. The Ministry of Digital Transformation and USAID are launching grants for developing cyber defense startups in the total amount of $500,000," the message reads.

How does it work?

The ministry clarified that developers and startups can receive up to $50,000 for the implementation of own products and ideas, and the program's total budget is $500,000. The first participants will be selected from among the best IT teams of Arena 2023, who will present their solutions during the startup track.

It is emphasized that developers who offer the most effective solutions for cyber defense, in particular, to counter Russian hacker attacks, protect Ukrainian information resources, or strengthen cyber security worldwide, can count on the grant.

Reference

IT Arena is a technological conference that gathers more than 5,000 participants in Lviv annually for three days of discussions and business networking. This year, the event will start on September 29 in an updated format and end on October 1.

It will be recalled that in June, the United States allocated $37 million to Ukraine to strengthen its resistance to cyberattacks by Russian and other hackers.

Since 2016, the United States has provided $120 million for cyberspace defense, including $82 million during a full-scale war. This makes it possible to detect cyber incidents and threats in time and react to them, Mykhailo Fedorov is sure.

In April, the US National Cyber Security Mission sent 43 specialists to Ukraine to combat Russian cyberattacks.

In May of this year, Ukraine officially joined the NATO Center for Cooperation in the Field of Cyber Defense (CCDCOE). A Ukrainian flag was raised near the headquarters of the center.