● OVERVIEW OF 2024 UKRAINE WAR: cyberattacks move closer to the frontline On 19 November last year, 1,000 days had passed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. The battle in cyberspace, which supports military objectives, has lasted even longer. T he number of critical, high-impact incidents declined in 2024, but the total number of incidents and attacks targeting government institutions and local authorities increased. Cybercrime for financial gain, state-sponsored groups targeting critical infrastructure and covert cyber intelligence activities have continued unabated. CYBERATTACKS SUPPORTING MILITARY OBJECTIVES A notable trend has been the increasingly systematic use of cyberattacks to support military objectives. Cyberattacks against the security and defence sectors increased compared to the previous year, and Russia intensified efforts to gather intelligence via Ukrainian military personnel’s devices. Analysts from the cybersecurity company Mandiant reported on the consistent activities 14 by the Russian state-sponsored group APT44, which hacked into the phones and other stolen devices of fallen Ukrainian soldiers to extract conversations and data. Enemy cyber activities aimed at monitoring troop movements and logistical chains have, in some cases, moved directly to the frontline. Both military personnel and civilians are increasingly targeted through communication apps. Malware is distributed through these apps for financial gain and intelligence purposes, while compromised applications can also reveal the locations of users, such as military units. As a result, Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council decided in September to ban the use of Telegram on devices used by government agencies, the defence sector and critical infrastructure employees. Kyiv National University followed suit by prohibiting Telegram for its staff and advising students to limit its use. CYBER SECURITY IN ESTONIA 2025