The order of merit was issued in recognition of the e-Governance Academy's efforts in actively implementing cyber defense assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as part of the European Peace Facility cooperation project over the past two years, while Ukraine has been under the conditions of martial law.

"Our collaboration started right after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. eGA's team and partners worked hard to implement the European Peace Facility cyber defense support in order to enhance the cyber defense of Ukraine and keep its digital society running and government functional, even during the war. This is a high recognition of the collective effort of our team," said Hannes Astok, chair of eGA.

"Throughout the project, we have witnessed very high levels of motivation from the Ukrainian military professionals and are humbled and proud to be their partners in making Ukraine stronger," said Merle Maigre, head of the Cybersecurity Competence Center at eGA.

Within the framework of the European Peace Facility assistance measure on cyber defense capacity building for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a cyber lab and a cyber classroom have been provided, enabling numerous military professionals to upgrade their cyber defense skills.

Several trainings and exercises have also been provided. The total cost for the action under the cyber defense component has been €3 million. The e-Governance Academy (eGA) has led the project activities over the past two years. The cyber lab and related trainings were delivered jointly in cooperation with the CybExer Technologies.

A cyber lab is an online training, exercise, and research environment. The technology behind cyber labs enables users to generate a realistic, capable, and credible virtual environment that requires trainees to respond to cyberattacks and defense simulations in real time. Within the simulated virtual network, members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces can better learn to manage high-stress levels while locating and examining vulnerabilities across various network systems.

The cyber classroom contains 15 workstations and the necessary equipment for training and exercises on cyber defense related topics. The project has also involved the procurement, set up, installation, and configuration of security hardware and software for the Ukrainian Armed Forces along with related training.

The European Peace Facility (EPF) support project "Assistance measure under the European Peace Facility to support Ukrainian Armed Forces-Cyber Defense Component " began in March 2022 and runs to April 2024.

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