Oleh Derevianko, ISSP Co-Founder and Chief Vision Officer, participated in EBAN Annual Congress 2022, which this year was organized in Cork (Ireland).
EBAN - European Business Angels Network Annual Congress is the largest and one of the most significant events for business angel investors in Europe. This year's Congress brought together more than 300 business angel investors, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.
Oleh took part in a panel discussion on the development of technology startups in the field of security ‘DeepTech for Safer Europe’ and held a series of meetings to support attracting Irish and European investment in Ukrainian startups. The future opportunities to build a strategic partnership between the Ukrainian and Irish startup ecosystems were discussed with Simon Coveney, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Defense of Ireland.
The experience of ISSP and Ukraine in general in countering Russian cyberattacks has always been of great interest, and the EBAN conference was no exception. Ukraine has been at the forefront of cyber warfare for eight years; therefore, we have unique knowledge to share. Why is it so important? The answer is obvious – without properly organized and constantly maintained high-level cyber resilience, the success of any company, industry or even country is in doubt. Any experienced investor understands this and becomes extremely meticulous about cybersecurity issues for both startups and mature companies.
‘I am convinced that Ukraine has the potential to become a leader not only among service but also product companies in the field of cybersecurity.
And these companies can be competitive in the international markets. The Ukrainian-Irish startup GuardYoo, which we founded a few years ago, is a clear example of a such possibility. But for the full realization of the potential of Ukrainian cybersecurity as an industry, an appropriate state policy is needed, which will stimulate the development of product startups in Ukraine, as well as service companies that provide services with a high share of added value. As far as I know, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine is currently working on the development and implementation of such a policy, and this is very important because for our victory we need not only a strong army and determined people, but also a powerful, innovative, sustainable, and cyber-resilient economy. Nothing new. But this must be done, even though it is much more difficult to perform than to say. Neither the state nor business has time to delay,’ Oleh Derevianko said.