Over a year into the war in Ukraine, BCS spoke to experts from IT Ukraine and the UK about what we have learned about IT resilience, what Ukraine is still able to offer, and the implications for the role of IT technology in society. The webinar was chaired by Brian Runciman MBCS, BCS’ Head of Content and Insight.
The panel featured Iryna Manukovska, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer at JEVERA software solutions & XME.digital low code platform, an ICF certified coach and member of the Forbes Communications Council; Kostyantyn Vasyuk, the Executive Director of the IT Ukraine Association, which develops all directions of its activities to support the industry during wartime as a basis for the country's economy and to expand its promotion as a global IT destination; and Timothy Clark, a full-stack software engineer who also works as a Cybersecurity consultant, is Chair of the BCS Preston & District branch, and Student Chapters Officer for the BCS Early Careers Executive group.
World leaders in resilience
Opening the webinar, Kostyantyn explained that before the war began, Ukraine’s national IT was one of the industry’s largest tech supporters in Europe, growing by 25-30% annually, and generating more than 4% of Ukraine’s GDP. IT remains one of the only industries in Ukraine experiencing growth due to the conflict, still bringing in massive revenue to the economy and owing to its IT provision could even beg considered ‘a new silicon valley’. The Ukrainian IT association represents more than 90,000 IT professionals, and is actively gaining new partnerships worldwide. Kostyantyn added that the global labour market is undergoing massive transformation, and that the nation is glad to collaborate and share their experience and expertise in resilience through change.
Tim Clark commented that in this David and Goliath-like conflict, Ukraine’s resilience has amazed the globe, and that UK businesses can learn a lot from their response to the war.
‘We are resilient by default now.’
Iryna explained that on top of the recent conflict, constant cyber attacks have taken place since 2013, which has meant that resilient cyber security practices have had to become a core part of business strategy as a matter of course. Kostyantyn concurred, adding that businesses do not stop operating in the face of disaster and as a result, Ukraine and its people have become ‘resilient by default’.
The importance of preparation
Discussing what goes into resilient operations, Tim explained that it’s not about reacting, but about being prepared; similarly to how we saw that UK companies who already had work from home policies fared better during the pandemic, Ukraine’s existing practices of offshoring government operations in the cloud meant Russia was less able to successfully target vital infrastructure.
Iryna said that there were approximately 5000 cyber attacks/incidents, often targeting financial operations, in the year before the invasion.
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Additionally, each physical incident — such as a missile strike — comes with a cyber attack, so investment in cyber security, supported by allies such as the US, has been vital. She added that providing the public with information on how to prevent their systems from acting as a window for an attack has also been key, alongside a nationwide attempt to accelerate digital transformation in an attempt to minimise vulnerabilities before they are exploited. Similarly, it is important to educate the public to be able to identify disinformation and to avoid falling for traps like emotionally triggering headlines, instead teaching them to spot worthwhile content. She added that AI and analytic tools can help identify bot-created or false content, and the creation of widespread systems for such work can help prevent the spread of disinformation before it starts.
Asked about the physical impact of the war, Kostyantyn explained that a great deal of Ukrainian infrastructure was backed up already, limiting the impact of attacks on operations, and he emphasised the importance of investing in strong infrastructure and cloud storage to minimise impact.
The IT brain drain
In response to an audience question about how Ukraine has combatted the so-called IT Brain drain, Kostyantyn answered that Ukraine is a hub of IT talent and many were indeed being headhunted before the war. However, IT is an industry on the front lines of the conflicts, and currently there are more than 200,000 people supporting tech projects and cyber security — the question of the brain drain may become more relevant after the conflict ends, as relocation tends to happen based on the demand of customers.
The role of zero trust
Discussing the pros and cons of the zero trust approach to cyber security, Iryna began by saying that it is currently a very effective approach, and can be a useful basis for AI to accurately classify attacks and find misinformation — however, she pointed out, the development of post-quantum computing will transform our understanding of what secure data is, and that is an upcoming issue which will require a re-evaluation of approaches to cybersecurity.
Tim added that though zero trust is a very popular approach and can be effective, it can only be successful if it has the support of the entire organisation and business model; it has to be introduced incrementally and with everyone’s support, which takes time and can be challenging for many businesses.
Sustainability issues
When asked about how the conflict has affect sustainability issues, Iryna responded that while some incidents, such as the recent dam explosion, are tangibly negative for the environment the real issue is that because Ukraine is a highly digitalised country, this means that when infrastructure is affected it renders data inaccessible, affecting things such as sustainability goals. However, she adds that Ukrainians ‘tend to look for a solution not a problem’, and that the country’s approach of solving issues as they occur should reduce impact at the end of the conflict.
Tim added that once again, the UK and the rest of the world can learn from Ukraine’s agile response to crisis as this will be a vital skill for businesses as the climate crisis progresses; specifically, we should learn methods of disaster recovery and emulate pre-emptive strategies lie cloud storage and robust remote working policies.
Closing comments
With the first closing comment of the session, Kostyantyn urged Europe and the wider world to be ready to respond to a quickly evolving situation, which could go on longer than expected. He also encouraged focus on the positive lessons that can come out of such challenges, and reminded us that this is a moment where we are rewriting history together, and that the Ukrainian tech industry is ready and open to support and drive that.
Tim closed by saying that all organisations can look up to Ukraine’s example of responding to change, and that the major takeaway is that it is vital to be prepared for disaster because there will always be another round the corner ready to stop a business in its tracks. He said that adopting a long term agile culture is really key, and implementing systems such as cloud storage — even multiple — is also a useful tool for workforces to have at their disposal, while empowering teams with as much information as possible is another great way to foster resilient, agile teams.
Finally, Iryna commented that companies must focus on their teams’ soft skills, such as like resourcefulness and creativity, as these are the traits that will help a team respond successfully and agilely through a changes; the world is changing rapidly, and though we don’t know what will happen next we can prepare ourselves and feel empowered to respond with resilience.
