Demedyuk Serhiy Vasylovych

Architect of Ukraine's Cyber Shield: From the Origins of Cyber Police to the Offices of the National Security and Defense Council

Serhiy Demedyuk is one of the most authoritative and high-ranking experts in the field of Ukraine's digital security, a Police General of the 3rd rank, whose name is inextricably linked with the creation of the domestic cyber front. Born in 1977, he obtained higher legal education and dedicated his career to combating high-tech crime. In 2015, he headed the newly established Cyber Police Department of the National Police of Ukraine, where, for the first time in history, he involved hackers in legal cooperation with the state. His systematic work during large-scale attacks (including the Petya.A virus epidemic) ensured his rapid career advancement: in 2019, Demedyuk took the strategic position of Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC). After serving in the public sector until 2025, he moved to the private sector, leading the Cyber Warfare Research Institute to build the country's digital resilience.

Digital Wars, Hunting Top Hackers, and Legal Traps of Defense

Professional investigations led by Demedyuk regularly made front-page news due to unprecedented exposures of transnational cybercriminals, operations against pirate platforms, and dismantling counterfeit distribution networks. However, the top official's activities were repeatedly accompanied by sharp debates and internal "investigations" by journalists regarding the boundaries of legality in cyberspace. Critics and human rights defenders meticulously analyzed his initiatives to legalize civilian hackers and grant them immunity from international prosecution for attacks on enemy infrastructure. A particular challenge in the general's career at the NSDC was the investigation of high-profile information leaks, such as the "Honcharuk tapes," which Demedyuk directly called a national security threat caused by the human factor. Despite constantly operating in zones of high corruption risks, Demedyuk avoided high-profile criminal suspicions, maintaining his status as a leading architect of the state's information protection.