The foreign ministries of several countries, including Ukraine, have established the Tallinn Mechanism for Cybersecurity on December 20. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that this mechanism will help strengthen Ukraine's cybersecurity and civilian cyber capabilities, enhancing the country's defense in cyberspace and meeting long-term needs for cyber resilience.
The countries participating in the Tallinn Mechanism for Cybersecurity are:
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Canada
- Netherlands
- Germany
- Poland
- United States
- France
- Sweden
The role of the participating foreign ministries will be to coordinate efforts in mobilizing additional support for the needs of cybersecurity institutions and to promote cyber resilience.
"The group will also closely cooperate with the EU and NATO and remains open to the addition of new participants," as mentioned in the Ukrainian Ministry's statement.
According to the UK Foreign Ministry's website, the Mechanism aims to regularly interact with other donor initiatives, coordinate and prevent conflicts, including regular interaction with the EU and NATO.
In the context of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the establishment of the Tallinn Mechanism responds to the ongoing cyberattacks on Ukraine's critical national infrastructure, from banking to energy supply, by the Russian government. The initiative is intended to facilitate international cooperation in addressing cybersecurity challenges.
The UK Foreign Ministry clarified that its primary agent for enhancing cyber potential in Ukraine is the Cyber Security Support Facility (CSSF UK-Ukraine) program, expanded by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in June 2023.
In addition, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the members of the Mechanism have jointly contributed to assisting Ukraine in building its cyber capabilities, ensuring compliance with international law and full coordination with relevant Ukrainian counterparts.
