U.S. cyber firm launches Ukraine hiring spree
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Boston-based cybersecurity firm Recorded Future is planning to hire up to 100 employees in Ukraine before 2025, more than doubling its presence in the country.
Why it matters: Ukraine's success fighting off Russian cyber aggression during the war so far is due, in part, to the existing IT talent in the country, as well as Ukraine's partnerships with Western allies.
- Recorded Future CEO Christopher Ahlberg tells Axios he's more than doubling the size of his existing Ukraine staff because "we just love the quality of the work" coming from the team.
Details: Ahlberg says the hiring spree, which kicked off earlier this month, is moving quickly, although for security reasons, he declined to say how many people he's hired already.
- Recorded Future is mostly hiring software developers and engineers in Ukraine, as well as threat intelligence analysts who will study dark web forums for signs of attacks and share intel with their customers.
- Recorded Future's clients in Ukraine are all government agencies and a handful of critical infrastructure firms, Ahlberg says.
- Before the hiring spree, Recorded Future had fewer than 100 employees in Ukraine.
The intrigue: Ukraine's Ministry of Digitalization and the National Security and Defense Council officially endorsed Recorded Future's expansion, per a press release Thursday.
- Ahlberg says the endorsement helps give his company's hiring plans more legitimacy in the region.
What they're saying: "Building a strong Ukrainian software/IT industry with global impact will be instrumental in the rebuilding of Ukraine," said Yegor Dubynskyi, deputy minister of digital transformation of Ukraine, in a statement.
The big picture: Many cybersecurity firms have opted to either open offices in other Eastern European countries, like Poland, or move their teams out of Ukraine during the war.
- Google has an office in neighboring Poland, and Ukrainian startup Hacken moved its main offices from Kyiv to Lisbon, per the Wall Street Journal.
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