Over the past five years, the United States Agency for International Development alone has provided more than $200 million in cybersecurity assistance to Ukraine. The National Security Agency and the U.S. Cyber Command have also provided assistance. But the Trump administration has cut U.S. cybersecurity assistance.
Over the past five years, the United States Agency for International Development alone has provided more than $200 million in cybersecurity assistance to Ukraine. The National Security Agency and the U.S. Cyber Command have also provided assistance. But the Trump administration has cut U.S. cybersecurity assistance.
American cybersecurity assistance included expert support, training, equipment and software for organizations across Ukraine, including dozens of government agencies and departments, as well as key gas and electricity suppliers, the national bank and nuclear facilities, Bloomberg writes .
USAID grants have funded several cybersecurity initiatives in Ukraine, some of which were approved during the first Trump administration, including protecting the country's election infrastructure and its diplomatic communications networks.
Dozens of people in Ukraine and the United States who provided technical assistance on cybersecurity issues at hundreds of sites across the country have had their contracts canceled or suspended .
In addition, planned shipments of computer equipment and software intended to ensure the security of Ukrainian infrastructure were never delivered.
This was reported to Bloomberg by sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fears of reprisals from the Trump administration.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio wants to ensure that every USAID dollar is spent on making the United States “safer, stronger, and more prosperous.” In response, the State Department is reviewing cybersecurity projects to determine which ones will best advance Trump’s goals.
Andriy Mankish, a Ukrainian cybersecurity expert who previously worked on U.S.-funded projects to detect attempted Russian hacking attacks, said the administration’s retreat from cybersecurity is likely to “affect our efforts and slow progress in key areas.” He said long-planned cybersecurity projects have come to an abrupt end.
“Many projects were stopped halfway, contractors were fired before work was completed, and many plans were not given the opportunity to reach their full potential,” Mankish said.
USAID’s largest contract related to Ukraine’s cybersecurity was a $128 million contract with consulting firm DAI Global LLC. The contract was set to expire in September, but DAI had hoped to extend it through September 2026, three people familiar with the matter said.
The initiative, led by DAI, involved providing cybersecurity equipment — such as data recovery, backup systems, and threat detection tools.
Among the organizations that were to be provided with this equipment were Ukrenergo, the Tax Service of Ukraine, several government ministries, as well as cybersecurity support for airports, radioactive waste management facilities, and the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
The company also helped coordinate the exchange of cyber threat information between Ukraine and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) , providing the U.S. with an important source of intelligence on the latest tactics employed by state-backed Russian hackers.
After the funding freeze in January, many people working on the DAI project were put on leave, and its future is now unclear. Some of the company’s employees continue to work in Ukraine, but their capabilities are significantly limited. According to sources, equipment and services that were supposed to be provided to Ukraine for ongoing initiatives, such as a project to strengthen the country’s central election commission, are currently not going according to plan.
Another American company, CRDF Global, had been providing training and working with the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to establish cybersecurity operations centers. That work has also been suspended, and it is unclear whether it will resume following an ongoing State Department review.
An international initiative to bolster support for Ukrainian cybersecurity has also suffered . Last year, the Tallinn Mechanism, backed by a number of countries including Canada, the UK, Germany, France and Estonia, announced about $200 million to support Ukrainian cybersecurity to counter Russian attacks. The US has agreed to provide $100 million, most of which will be provided through USAID. But after Trump was elected, US funding was frozen, and it is unclear whether it will ever be provided.
Some foreign governments are stepping up to fill the void left by the United States, according to four people with direct knowledge of the effort. The scale of U.S. support has been so large that it is unlikely that other governments will be able to fully replicate it. But any increase in support could provide valuable assistance, the people said. Canada, Britain and Japan have quickly increased funding for ongoing cybersecurity work and other critical initiatives, they said.
Ukraine has also received support from the private sector, and it is likely to continue. More than a dozen companies, including Mandiant, Palo Alto Networks Inc. and Symantec Broadcom Inc., have provided cybersecurity assistance through a U.S. organization called the Cyber Defense Assistance Collaborative, or CDAC. Their support, worth about $40 million, has continued throughout the war, providing Ukraine with intelligence on hacking threats and tools to detect intrusions, according to Greg Rattray, CDAC’s executive director.
