Ministry of Digital Transformation presents draft national cyber hygiene strategy

Updated

The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, in collaboration with the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection, the National Coordination Centre for Cybersecurity under the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, and BRDO, has presented the draft National Cyber Hygiene Strategy – a visionary document outlining how Ukraine will systematically develop a culture of safe online behaviour by 2030.

“The draft National Cyber Hygiene Strategy is a document that will enable us to make the digital environment safe for every Ukrainian. Our goal is to foster a new culture of responsible technology use, where every individual is protected online. I thank our partners for their shared vision and active participation in building a digital state,” said Mykhailo Fedorov, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.

The Strategy’s objective is to instil sustainable habits of safe online behaviour, enabling Ukrainians to use technology confidently and responsibly.

The document sets out three strategic goals, each accompanied by an implementation plan with specific actions and measurable outcomes. This approach allows progress to be assessed and policy adjusted based on real data.

“Ukraine already ranks in the global top five for digital public services and became the first country to introduce digital passports, online marriage, and hundreds of services via Diia. Today, over 23 million Ukrainians use 30 digital documents and 60 services, and the state is transforming into a convenient, efficient, and human-centred service. We are creating an ecosystem of solutions – from Diia.Business and Diia.Education to Diia.City and Diia.Engine – so that every citizen can learn, work, and stay protected online. The next step is the draft National Cyber Hygiene Strategy: common security standards for citizens, businesses, and the state. This is the foundation of a future in which Ukraine is not only a digital leader but also a symbol of safe and mindful technology use,” said Valeriya Ionan, Adviser to the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine on Innovation, Digitalisation and Global Partnerships.

By 2030, the draft strategy envisages:

• engaging 2 million citizens in cyber hygiene programmes and raising public awareness to 10%;
• implementing security standards in 90% of public institutions and conducting a pilot with 100 major companies;
• ensuring 80% of civil servants obtain a cyber hygiene certificate;
• integrating cyber hygiene courses into 10% of schools by 2027 and 20% by 2030;
• enhancing awareness among vulnerable groups – minors, older people, veterans.

The draft strategy incorporates cyber hygiene recommendations from the European NIS 2 Directive and best practices promoted by ENISA, which define core cyber hygiene standards:

• multi-factor authentication;
• vulnerability management;
• backup procedures;
• regular user training.

It also draws on the experience of the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Estonia, Singapore, Finland, and Japan, where state-run cyber hygiene training programmes are already in place.

“The level of cyber threats rises daily, so a culture of cyber hygiene is not just about personal caution but about national resilience. We want every Ukrainian – from schoolchildren to civil servants – to understand the basic principles of digital security and apply them in everyday life. This draft strategy creates a systemic framework to help the state, businesses, and citizens become more resilient to cyber threats,” said Vitalii Balashov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for Cyber Protection.

The discussion of the draft Strategy involved the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection, the National Coordination Centre for Cybersecurity under the NSDC, the National Bank of Ukraine, the Cyber Police, the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO), as well as analytical and technological partners – Cyber Unit Technologies, the State Centre for Cyber Protection, the Centre for Countering Disinformation, Molfar, and the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

The event was attended by more than 150 representatives from public institutions, businesses, the financial sector, education, and the cyber community.

Ukraine is already systematically building citizens’ digital skills on the Diia.Education platform.

To date, Ukrainians have earned over 4.9 million certificates, including more than 1.1 million for cyber hygiene training. The Digital Literacy Test (Cyfrogram), which helps assess digital skills, has been completed by 1.5 million users.

These results show that cyber hygiene has become part of everyday security culture – from the individual actions of every Ukrainian man and woman to state policy.

Join us in strengthening your own cyber resilience on Diia.Education.

The presentation was supported by the U.S. Cybersecurity Activity in Ukraine, implemented by the United States Government.