Estonia's eGA starts delivering cybersecurity equipment to armed forces of Moldova

TALLINN - In July, the European Union delivered the first tranche of cybersecurity equipment for the armed forces of Moldova under the European Peace Facility (EPF) and the Estonian e-Governance Academy (eGA), acting as the implementing actor, is conducting the procurement and delivery of the equipment during this and the next year.

"The EU-funded cybersecurity equipment improves Moldova’s network infrastructure and enhances Moldova’s national security, stability, and resilience in the defense sphere. This is critical to keep Moldovan cyberspace secure and the government functional," Hannes Astok, executive director of eGA, said.

The cybersecurity equipment delivery is part of the European Peace Facility (EPF) assistance measure to strengthen the cybersecurity capabilities and resilience of the Ministry of Defense and the Moldovan armed forces. The total budget of the measure is four million euros and it lasts from December 2022 to September 2025.

Through two EPF cyber defense projects, the eGA implements the strengthening of Moldova’s cyber defense capabilities. The cybersecurity support aims to increase the ability of the Moldovan armed forces and the Ministry of Defense to detect intrusions into the information systems and to counter cyber attacks.

The EU support consists of cybersecurity equipment and practical exercises benefitting the personnel of the armed forces. In November last year, the eGA and Cybexer Technologies carried out threat hunting and compromise detection training as well as technical cyber defense exercises.

The eGA has been collaborating with the government of Moldova for almost 20 years to support its digital development. The implementation of support to the Moldovan armed forces and the Ministry of Defense under the EPF has added an important layer to this cooperation.

Currently, the eGA implements three EU cyber assistance projects, with a total amount of 6.7 million euros. Two of these projects are funded under the EPF and aim to enhance the cyber defense capacity of the Moldovan armed forces.

The third project is the EU support project "Moldova Cybersecurity Rapid Assistance 2.0", which aims to increase the cyber resilience of public sector organizations and critical infrastructure providers. The total cost of this measure is 2.7 million euros and it will run from May 2024 to November 2025.