National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine

The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC Ukraine) is a Ukrainian governmental body responsible for national security and defense policy. It operates under the authority of the President of Ukraine and serves as a coordinating entity for the country's security and defense institutions. Its mandate includes the formulation of strategic policies, oversight of defense initiatives, and crisis management in response to threats to national security. As a constitutional body, it brings together senior officials from various ministries, intelligence agencies, and military leadership to advise on matters of state security. The council's headquarters are located in Ukraine, reflecting its central role in the nation's governance structure.

In February 2021, the NSDC Ukraine publicly attributed a series of distributed denial‑of‑service attacks targeting Ukrainian government defense and security sector websites to threat actors operating from Russian networks. The council's statement described the use of a new malware that compromised vulnerable servers to build a botnet for the attacks, while noting that internet providers' protective measures could prolong website inaccessibility after the incidents. This attribution coincided with Ukrainian law enforcement's international operation against the Egregor ransomware group, although unconfirmed reports suggested possible retaliatory motives for the disruption of the Security Service's website. The incident highlighted the NSDC Ukraine's role in cyber threat attribution and its coordination with national security and law‑enforcement entities. It also underscored the council's focus on defending critical information infrastructure against foreign‑originated cyber threats.