The Ukrainian government has terminated the employment of its two high-ranking cybersecurity officials, Yurii Shchyhol and his deputy Victor Zhora, over embezzlement. Taras Melnychuk, a senior cabinet official, announced the dismissals on Telegram without specifying the reasons behind it.
Shchyhol served as the head of Ukraine’s State Special Communications Service of Ukraine (SSSCIP), while Zhora held the positions of deputy chairman and chief digital transformation officer at SSSCIP.
The government soon appointed Dmytro Makovskyi as the acting head of SSSCIP, pending the outcome of an investigation by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU). According to NABU’s press release, several senior leaders of SSSCIP are accused of misusing and embezzling more than $62 million in state funds.
Zhora, in his defense, stated, “I have nothing to add to SSSCIP statement at the moment. I will defend my name and reputation in court.” Shchyhol, on the other hand, has not made any comment yet.
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It remains unclear whether the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a close partner of the Ukrainian government and SSSCIP, was informed in advance before they were fired. When asked, CISA refrained from commenting on the allegations but rather focused its statement on the strength of its partnership with the Ukrainian government.
Zhora and CISA director Jen Easterly had previously signed a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Ukrainian governments, reinforcing their collaboration in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Zhora had recently given a keynote speech at the Cyberwarcon cybersecurity conference in the U.S., and earlier in the year, he and Easterly were jointly interviewed at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas.
Scott McConnell, a CISA spokesperson, stated in an email, “Our partnership with the government of Ukraine remains strong, and we will continue to support efforts to bolster the cybersecurity and resilience of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.”