Cyber companies step up support for Ukraine

Cyber security companies Bitdefender and Vectra AI have both declared they will offer support to Ukraine in the form of technology products and services, including freebies, as the Russian invasion enters its seventh day.

Romania-based Bitdefender, whose founders grew up under the brutal Soviet puppet regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu, has teamed with the Romanian National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC) to offer its expertise, threat intelligence and technology, while the DNSC, Romania’s equivalent of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), will offer technical consulting, threat intelligence and cyber security technology to any Ukraine-based business, government body or private citizen for as long as they might need it.

Also, Bitdefender and the DNSC are funding a year’s free access to Bitdefender for any company or public entity in a Nato or European Union (EU) country that wants to enhance its cyber security posture by replacing any technology that may present a trust concern from a technical or geopolitical perspective.

“We are deeply saddened by the unprovoked brutal act of war against the free people of Ukraine and are committed to doing what we can to support them and our Nato allies,” said Florin Talpes, co-founder and CEO of Bitdefender. “As proud Romanians and a company of global citizens, we stand with our northern neighbours who bravely fight for their future.”

The DNSC said in a statement: “Recent geopolitical events have transformed our world as we knew it. We must stand united in facing the increasing cyber security challenges of today and for years to come.

“Romania considers that the cyberspace must be secure and resilient, and no geopolitical or military interests should affect the lives of people and their business. We remain committed to help all citizens, and the private and public sector actors of the free and democratic world, for keeping our planet as a conflict-free place.

“We invite all Nato and European Union member states to contribute to this endeavour.”

Meanwhile, Vectra AI, which specialises in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven threat detection and response for hybrid and multicloud enterprises, will offer a slate of technologies, including Microsoft Azure Active Directory and Office 365 scanning, protection for Exchange Online mailboxes, network infrastructure surveillance, and data-gathering for incident response and investigation – again, gratis.

“In these challenging times, it is really important that organisations operating in CNI, finance and government remain extremely vigilant and ensure that known vulnerabilities are addressed and current detection capabilities are also enhanced,” said Steve Cottrell, EMEA CTO at Vectra AI.

“Advanced threat detection capabilities mean that organisations can more quickly identify and mitigate the impact of threats in the cloud and across enterprise networks. Where gaps are identified, Vectra is ready to help in a straightforward, cost-free and unconditional manner. We want to ensure that, at the very least, the cyber crisis is de-escalated as quickly as possible.”