Cybercrime

The ongoing aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, reflected in increasing cyberattacks, including against critical infrastructure, remains one of the key challenges in the Eastern Partnership region.

In order to respond to this type of hybrid cyber war, and to improve the knowledge and practical skills of law enforcement officers, prosecutors, the cybersecurity community and private sector experts of Ukraine, CyberEast+, a joint project of the European Union and of the Council of Europe, in collaboration with the CyberUA project of the Council of Europe, organised the third cybercrime co-operation exercise with private sector entities, from 16 to 18 June 2026.

Thirty-six participants from the Prosecutor General’s Office, the National Security and Defence Council, the State Bureau of Investigations, the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection, the State Security Service, the National Health Service and various service providers/infrastructure entities from Ukraine actively engaged in the exercise. 

Using professional skills and practical knowledge, the Ukrainian counterparts identified simulated cyber security incidents and responded with cybercrime investigations that followed necessary procedures to secure electronic evidence on the basis of standards of the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention). This exercise provided an opportunity to use an array of Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) tools and to conduct digital forensics for the identification of potential perpetrators of the attack.

Representatives of all entities co-operated very closely to ensure coordinated response through the cyber investigation. Co-operation with private sector operators of critical infrastructure was a highlight of the event.

The CyberEast+ and CyberUA projects will continue to support co-operation exercises with private sector actors on the preservation, reporting and handling e-evidence of war crimes and related offences, for the benefit of Ukrainian partner institutions.

CyberEast+ project

CyberUA project

Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention)

Second Additional Protocol to the Cybercrime Convention on enhanced co-operation and disclosure of electronic evidence

Electronic Evidence of War Crimes platform