Key Ukraine Government Organizations Choose Akamai

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Akamai proactively offered cybersecurity support to the government of Ukraine through the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection (SSSCIP) of Ukraine. The support Akamai provided  led to Akamai being chosen for a key national program for DDoS protection in Ukraine, which received powerful backing from the USAID Cybersecurity Activity. This program ensures that the company provides DDoS protection to a number of key government bodies in Ukraine. Akamai continues to support the Ukrainian government in its efforts to safeguard its digital infrastructure.

Akamai’s web application and API protection (WAAP) solutions have been chosen for this key project to deliver protection against evolving threats. From malware and cross-site scripting to adversarial bots and volumetric DDoS campaigns, the threats to web apps and APIs grow more sophisticated every year, complicating efforts to protect these digital properties. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine created a frenzy of malicious online activity, including hacktivism, “hacking back,” and nation-state cyber warfare. The impact has been so strong that it has contributed to a significant increase in DDoS attacks across the entire EMEA region. This is why Akamai’s role in helping to protect against hacktivism has been even more essential. With automatic API discovery, adaptive detections, built-in bot mitigation, and continuous self-tuning, Akamai’s WAAP solutions and out-of-the-box threat intelligence with Client Reputation secure key Ukrainian government sites, apps, APIs, and infrastructure from the most dangerous cyberattacks.

Over the course of the project, Akamai has helped fend off attacks from highly sophisticated botnets that mimic human behavior. These botnets were intricately designed to break into IT environments and steal data, disrupt governmental operations, and launch crippling cyberattacks. On occasion, they have also attempted to wreak havoc on key national initiatives. Through its powerful platform, Akamai has managed to effectively detect and neutralize malicious bot and botnet traffic. Furthermore, Akamai has proven through this multifaceted initiative that it can effectively run a multi-tenant project. Each government entity has full visibility of what is happening with its security posture in real time through the Akamai platform. While all government bodies participating in the project are using the platform, each has visibility only into its own security posture and the interface is specifically tailored to the needs of each organization. This ensures a customized and effective approach as it gives each organization full insight into attack vectors and trends, as well as provides the State Cyber Protection Center of the SSSCIP of Ukraine with the best methods to mitigate attacks at a national scale. 

Speaking about the collaboration with Akamai, the Head of SSSCIP, Yurii Myronenko, said, “Thanks to the support of international technical assistance by USAID, we deployed the state-of-the-art DDoS protection solution based on Akamai Technologies. This solution provides multiple government agencies and state-owned enterprises with cutting-edge tools to defend against complex network attacks. By significantly enhancing our cybersecurity capabilities, we are taking a crucial step towards safeguarding Ukraine's public sector and critical infrastructure.”