State Tax Service strengthens cyber security: Ukraine and Estonia introduce a new system to protect critical information resources

The State Tax Service of Ukraine is working with international partners on effective new measures to enhance cyber security. Lesia Karnaukh, Head of the State Tax Service, and Andrea Kivi, Executive Director of the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV), have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation.

The cooperation will include:

• modernising the State Tax Service’s cyber infrastructure;
• introducing a privileged access management system (PAM) for critical information systems and resources.

“We are effectively creating a single secure environment for controlling access to the State Tax Service’s most important information systems. We will strengthen oversight of who has accessed which resources and when, enabling us to respond promptly to potential internal threats,” Lesia Karnaukh explained.

The cooperation is not limited to purchasing and deploying software. Specialists from the State Tax Service and ESTDEV will work together on technical solutions, test and validate the newly introduced system, and train administrators and users. In effect, an entirely new security system is being introduced.

Another important area of work is the modernisation of the State Tax Service’s server and network infrastructure, together with the introduction of platforms for network monitoring, analysis and management. This is expected to make its IT systems more reliable and accelerate data processing and decision-making.

“This partnership is strategically important to us because it concerns a critical area: cyber security and cyber resilience. During the full-scale war, when state institutions face constant cyber attacks, the reliable protection of information systems and data is an absolute priority for the State Tax Service,” emphasised the Head of the State Tax Service.

The State Tax Service’s active cooperation with ESTDEV is continuing through the project “Support for Digitalisation of Tax Administration at the State Tax Service of Ukraine”, implemented under the Tallinn Mechanism. Among its objectives, the project seeks to improve voluntary compliance with tax legislation and strengthen the capacity to combat tax fraud. Supporting Ukraine’s accession to the European Union is also an important component of the cooperation.