UK has spent £6 million on Ukrainian cyber defences since February
The Government activated the Ukraine Cyber Programme immediately after Russia's invasion.
The British government has spent nearly £6.4 million on an intiative to defend Ukraine's critical national infrastructure and essential public services from Russian cyberattacks.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the UK activated the Ukraine Cyber Programme immediately after the Russian incursion in February, to safeguard Ukraine against an upsurge in digital strikes.
Details of the programme had not been made public until now in order to protect its operational confidentiality.
The Ukraine Cyber Programme has offered incident response assistance to Ukrainian government institutions, shielding them from damaging attacks like the Industroyer2 malware.
It has also limited malicious actors' access to crucial information relevant to the war effort, while enabling authorities to harden essential infrastructure against future attacks.
The programme has also been instrumental in the delivery of frontline cyber security technologies like firewalls, DDoS safeguards and forensic capabilities, all of which provide an additional layer of protection and understanding.
Russian actors have a long history of hostile actions against Ukraine, with past targets being the nation's power system, energy, and financial sectors. Attacks stepped up after Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014, targeting Ukrainian airports, telecoms networks and the electricity grid.
The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) believes with 'high confidence' that Russia's GRU military intelligence agency has been behind some of these attacks, including disruption to transportation system.
Just prior to Russia's invasion a number of Ukrainian institutions, including banks and governmental organisations, were targeted by a high number of cyberattacks, many of which took the shape of DDoS attacks or wiper operations.
In April, a senior cyber officer for Ukraine told reporters that his country had thwarted a planned attack intended to take down a number of electrical substations and other components of a grid serving up to 2 million people.
In September, the Ukrainian government warned that Russia intends to launch 'massive cyberattacks' on Ukraine's critical infrastructure and that of its allies. The Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine's Ministry of Defence (HUR MO) said the next wave of attacks would likely concentrate on disrupting and destroying facilities and institutions related to the energy sector.
It also said the main goal of upcoming cyberattacks would likely be to hinder the Ukrainian Army's on-going assaults and to increase the effect of missile strikes on the nation's electrical infrastructure, particularly in the country's east and south.
'The Kremlin also intends to increase the intensity of DDoS attacks on the critical infrastructure of Ukraine's closest allies, primarily Poland and the Baltic countries,' HUR MO noted.
Cleverly says Russia's assault against Ukraine is not confined to its ground invasion, as Moscow has repeatedly tried to infiltrate Ukraine's cyberspace, endangering vital data, services and infrastructure.
"The UK's support to Ukraine is not limited to military aid - we are drawing on Britain's world-leading expertise to support Ukraine's cyber defences. Together, we will ensure that the Kremlin is defeated in every sphere: on land, in the air and in cyber space," he added.
Lindy Cameron, Chief Executive Officer of the NCSC, said: "The NCSC is proud to have played a part in supporting Ukraine's cyber defenders. They have mounted an impressive defence against Russian aggression in cyberspace, just as they have done on the physical battlefield.
"The threat remains real and the UK's support package is undoubtedly bolstering Ukraine's defences further."