The Cyber Defense Assistance Collaborative (CDAC), a CRDF Global Initiative, recently sent a delegation to the Annual Cycon Conference in Tallinn, Estonia, from May 28th – June 2nd. CDAC delegation members met with global like-minded governments and private sector partners to discuss the expansion of cyber defense assistance to Ukraine. Meetings proved to be productive, bringing together private sector participants, international representatives, and Ukrainian government stakeholders in the same room to develop a collective understanding of how best to help Ukraine and expand opportunities to collaborate.
The CDAC delegation met with multiple governments, including Ukrainian, U.K., and U.S. stakeholders in a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings. Notably, the delegation participated in a bilateral between US and Ukrainian delegations, which supported bringing together an effective meeting for all participants and creating a positive dialogue to develop future efforts. Members of the Ukrainian delegation communicated the whole-of-government needs to Western governments, clarifying their requirements and how resources can best be deployed in the defense of Ukraine. This effort helped distill the discussion on how CDAC and CRDF Global can help build a cyber requirements function that can be used to provide the Government of Ukraine-wide support, ensuring full spectrum cyber support and that all Ministries in Ukraine receive the support they need.
Critically, the CDAC delegation helped further develop the network of private sector participants in the cyber defense assistance program. Private sector participants donating their goods and services remain at the center of the cyber defense assistance efforts. In addition, new participants present at the conference pledged support for the CDAC effort and are looking at new donation models to help channel their assistance to the optimal Ukrainian stakeholders. Notably, we have incorporated Trend Micro into the CDAC, joining our existing public partners, Cyber Threat Alliance, Mandiant Google Cloud, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, Recorded Future, and Threat Quotient, as well as our nonpublic CDAC members whose efforts remain crucial.To date, CDAC has aided in providing upwards of $20 million USD in cyber defense assistance, across tools, training, and services to Ukraine. The CDAC delegation and series of productive convenings in Tallinn have served to progress this effort, ensuring expanded cyber defense assistance can be provided to Ukraine in their time of need, increasing collaboration among allied nations. As cyber defense assistance continues to grow, the CDAC anticipates a bright future with increased private sector involvement and global government support.
