After the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022, cyber attacks in Central and Eastern Europe have accelerated significantly, gaining geopolitical character. Many of these attacks can be traced to hacker groups that are supported by Russia, targeting governmental bodies, energy, transportation, and communication systems. These actions can lead to noticeable downtime in the work of these infrastructure objects, which poses a serious threat to the stability of the region.
In 2024, when many European countries were having elections, including into the European Parliament, numerous attempts were observed to influence the civil opinion through disinformation and fake news. This was particularly visible in the Baltic countries, Poland, Ukraine, and others, where untruthful narratives were popularized through media and social media platforms. The goal of these attacks is to undermine the trust in electoral processes, weakening the stability and the capacity to withstand aggression.
The use of artificial intelligence for generating disinformation and deepfakes allowed these attacks to reach a new, more threatening level. However, according to the ENISA Threat Landscape 2024 report, the most widespread types of cyber attacks include those well-known before: ransomware, malware, and denial of service. Implementing these attacks in combination have an even more devastating effect. That’s why these threats demand the governments and organizations in the region to strengthen cybersecurity measures and international cooperation.
Olga is a recognized expert in IT and information security with 19 years of experience. Among other things, she specializes in information security systems design and implementation. Her profound knowledge of IT technologies and principles of building IT infrastructure put her in the position of the Chairperson of the Committee on IT and Cyber Security of the German-Ukrainian Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Olga is also the CEO of the Ukrainian IT company Silvery LLC.
