Page 64 - UKRRptJan22

9.1.7 TMT sector news
A massive Russian cyberattack could hit Ukrainian utilities, banks and Internet systems after the January 7 Orthodox Christmas holiday,The New York Times reports, citing “people briefed on the intelligence.” In a story headlined “US and Britain Help Ukraine Prepare for Potential Russian Cyberassault, the Times warns from Washington of “cyberattacks that take down the electric grid, the banking system, and other critical components of Ukraine’s economy and government. Russia’s goal, according to American intelligence assessments, would be to make Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, look inept and defenceless.” American and British cyber teams “have been inserted into Ukraine,” reports the Times. “Officials said the United States was considering a larger deployment, including resources from US Cyber Command.” However, the task is daunting: “The Ukrainian grid was built in the days of the Soviet Union, connected to Russia’s. It has been upgraded with Russian parts. The software is as familiar to the attackers as to its operators.” One US official says: “There’s too much to patch.”
eBay is adding 20% of the VAT to its services in Ukraine. eBay has sent a warning letter to Ukrainian users to add 20% value-added tax (VAT) to their services. Since January 2022, the so-called "tax on Google" will come into force. Furthermore, in June 2021, the President signed law No.1525-IX that introduces 20% VAT on online services that non-resident companies provide to Ukrainian users. According to the new rules introduced by this law, such electronic services are subject to VAT (20%), reported ain.ua.
A new $15M VC fund has launched in Ukraine. The new VC fund called SID Venture Partners I has launched in Ukraine. The trust fund is valued at $15mn. Its focus is on early-stage funding of the projects with Ukrainian founders. The fund is managed by 9 representatives of the Ukrainian IT industry and
64 UKRAINE Country Report January 2022 www.intellinews.com