The UNBA has established a Committee on cybersecurity and virtual assets

A permanent collegial advisory body — the Committee on cybersecurity and virtual assets has been established under the UNBA.

The relevant order was signed by the President of the UNBA, BCU Lidiya Izovitova. In a separate order, advocate Andriy Galich was appointed chairman of the newly formed Committee.

The new body is intended to bring together the professional, academic, and expert capabilities of the legal community to develop the legal framework in the areas of cybersecurity, information protection, and virtual assets. Its tasks include establishing uniform legal practices, improving legislation, and raising standards for professional legal assistance in these areas.

The Committee will analyze legislation, international treaties, and standards in the areas of cybersecurity, technical information protection, digital evidence, and virtual assets. Based on this analysis, the UNBA will prepare conclusions, legal positions, and recommendations regarding draft laws and regulatory acts. Committee representatives will also participate in working groups of government agencies, parliamentary committees, and international expert platforms.

The plan is to develop recommendations, training materials, and standards for legal assistance for advocates, as well as to organize training events. Topics will include cybersecurity, cybercrime, digital evidence, the legal regulation of virtual assets, AML/CFT/CPF, blockchain analytics, and interaction with cryptocurrency exchanges and other service providers in this field.

The Committee will also work on mechanisms to protect the rights of individuals in cases involving the loss, theft, or unlawful appropriation of virtual assets, as well as their tracing, seizure, and return. A separate area of focus will concern the technical protection of attorney-client privilege and clients’ confidential information, as well as countering the unlawful acquisition of information. Expert and analytical work will include the examination of blockchain transactions and digital evidence, as well as the valuation of virtual assets.

«A single case may simultaneously involve a cyberattack, digital evidence, and virtual assets, - explained A. Galych, highlighting the relevance of the initiative. - Therefore, the Committee’s primary task is to systematize existing practices and develop specific protocols for the protection, tracing, and recovery of assets, as well as for cooperation with exchanges and foreign institutions».

In connection with the establishment of the new body, the UNBA Committee on e-litigation and cybersecurity in the legal profession has been renamed the UNBA Committee on e-litigation. From now on, the two advisory bodies will operate in distinct areas.

For reference: Andriy Galych is an advocate who also holds a degree in technology. His professional practice combines legal and technical approaches to protecting clients in the digital environment. He conducts training sessions for advocates and appears in the media.