Current State of Public-Private Partnership in the Field of Cybersecurity: Ukrainian Experience

The article examines the current state of the public-private partnership (PPP) institution and public-private interaction (PPI) in the field of cybersecurity in Ukraine. The normative legal acts regulating these issues have been analysed, in particular, the laws of Ukraine "On Public-Private Partnership" and "On the Basic Principles of Ensuring Cybersecurity of Ukraine." The study of the provisions of these laws and scientific publications on the topic indicates that the concepts of PPP and PPI can currently be equated, as both partnership and interaction manifest in joint activities aimed at achieving a common goal. Furthermore, the existing normative standards highlight identical forms of PPP and PPI: the exchange information on cybersecurity incidents, the implementation of joint scientific and research projects, and training and qualification improvement of personnel in this field. Based on the analysis of Ukraine's key strategic documents on national security, it is substantiated that one of the ways to strengthen the cybersecurity system is the use of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in this area. Special attention is focused on studying the forms of involvement of cybersecurity experts from the private sector in cooperation with state bodies. Considering the current experience of involving experts from the private sector through enlistment in military service within relevant security and defense institutions or appointment to state service based on a employment contract, the study suggests exploring alternative cooperation models. The experience of interaction between the public and private sectors in the field of cybersecurity over recent years has been also summarized in the article. Thus, the exchange of information on cybersecurity incidents has been conducted through the coordination platform of the National Cybersecurity Cluster, the MISP-UA platform, as well as the Ukrainian government's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-UA). Highlighting the active involvement of public and private sectors in terms of training and improving specialist qualifications, the study indicates effective steps towards fulfilling state tasks and forming a cyber reserve. In particular, the achievements of the completed reintegration program “Cyber Defenders,” designed to train cybersecurity experts from among veterans of russian-Ukrainian war, have been explored. Key words: public-private partnership, public-private interaction, cyber reserve, national security, private sector, cybersecurity strategy.