Workshop in Kharkiv: "Information Security as a Part of National Security in Eastern Europe"

EUROPEUM's representative, Jan Kříž, participated in a workshop in Kharkiv on the topic of "Information Security as a Part of National Security in Eastern Europe". Read his report of this international meeting.

Between 19th and 20th February, a workshop took placein Ukraine’s Kharkiv on the topic of "Information Security as a Part of National Security in Eastern Europe", which happened with the financial support from the Visegrad Fund.

The objective of the main organiser – The Law Science Institute of Yaroslav Mudriy, National Law University – was to create a space for discussion and expert debate on the topic of electronic and information security in Eastern Europe, and especially Ukraine, given the ongoing conflict on its territory.

Participating in the discussion were representatives of the local academic community who tried to define the legal framework of the electronic warfare from the perspective of international law. Representatives of the Ukranian security authorities and private IT sector also took part and aimed at finding a common fstructure of a organising the electronic and information security, with particular emphsis on the educational sector.

Foreign guests also took the opportunity to contribute to the discussion, primarily with their experience with strong pro-Russian propaganda happening on the internet and the possible instruments the Ukrainian side could implement against it.

The majority of participating speakers discussed the topic from the structural perspective – that is the security policy of a state. EUROPEUM’s contribution, on the other hand, was focusing mostly on the individuals – i.e. the internet users, as the most basic yet the most vulnerable link of all security systems.

Given the broadness of the whole workshop, it is difficult to summarise the results of the discussion into a few sentences. However, the opinions and arguments that resonated the most were those calling for increased financial resources to be devoted to electronic and information security, the adaptation of the educational system to better educate the general public in the abovementioned areas and the creation of a clear international legal framework pertaining to cyber-criminality.