9 out of 10 cyberattacks on Ukraine are due to staff negligence and ignorance

Yuriy Shchyhol, Head of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection, analyzed the possible causes of cyberattacks and outlined the necessary steps to prevent them. According to Shchyhol, 9 out of 10 cyberattacks on Ukraine occur due to the negligence and ignorance of personnel.

«To reduce the risks, we advise all companies, and members of the media community in particular, to constantly audit the cybersecurity of their own systems to identify possible gaps in protection in a timely manner and identify steps to eliminate them ,» Shchyhol told Ukrinform.

According to the head of the State Service for Special Communications, it is necessary to form a reliable team of professionals who will deal with cyber defense issues. «One of the essential conditions for improving security is employee training, because, according to statistics, 9 out of 10 cyberattacks occur due to negligence, inattention or lack of knowledge of the staff,» said Yuriy Shchyhol.

The expert advised all companies not to neglect security measures, hoping that hackers can «ignore them.» Among the standard but important security methods, Shchyhol highlighted: setting complex passwords with different letter case and special characters; using two-factor authentication on all services where possible.

«If you notice any unusual activity on your network or suspect that your resources have been attacked, you should immediately contact the experts. Also, our Governmental Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine (CERT-UA ) is ready to assist you at your request ,» summarized the head of the State Special Communications Service.

In addition to attacks on large companies, Russian-backed hackers have increased the number of attempts to hack into Ukrainian users' accounts. According to a new Google report, the number of attacks on Ukrainian accounts increased by 250% in 2022.