The EU's cyber rapid response team may be deployed to help Ukraine which has been facing cyber attacks since last week, Lithuanian officials said on Monday.
"It is important for us to demonstrate solidarity with Ukraine and to provide it with assistance, and the deployment of the cyber rapid response team when needed is one of the objectives of the Lithuanian-led multinational project," Deputy Defence Minister Margiris Abukevičius said in a press release after discussing the possibility with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleh Haiduk.
The Lithuania-led force has been operating since 2019. It is on a permanent standby and is ready to deploy as soon as a concrete agreement on such assistance is reached, according to the press release.
Among other tasks, the team of cyber security experts from Lithuania, Poland, the Netherlands, Romania, Croatia and Estonia can be used in a major cyber crisis or to beef up the defence of EU institutions.
The vice-ministers also discussed the possibility of strengthening cooperation through the Regional Cyber Security Centre in Kaunas, which was launched last summer and brings together cyber-security experts from Lithuania, the US, Georgia and Ukraine.
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