The Ukrainian government is readying to move sensitive data and servers out of Ukraine if Russian invaders are able to advance further into the country, according to a report.

Ukraine’s deputy cybersecurity chief told Reuters on Wednesday that preparations are being made to move IT assets, including the physical servers that house critical and sensitive government data, abroad in the event that Russian forces move closer to taking over the country, putting Russia in position to inherit Ukraine’s government databases and state secrets.

“We are preparing the ground,” Victor Zhora, Ukraine’s deputy cybersecurity chief, told Reuters. “A European location will be preferred,” Zhora said, noting that moving data infrastructure out of the country is “plan B or C.”

Ukrainian lawmakers would need to sign off on the plans before any data or equipment could be moved, according to Zhora. Then, government agencies would have to decide on a case by case basis whether or not they want their equipment moved out of the country.

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Last month, it was reported that the Ukrainian government had procedures in place to wipe government servers or move sensitive data out of Kyiv, to other parts of Ukraine, in a worst-case scenario. The potential for moving data infrastructure out of the country entirely is a new development.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested on March 6 that there are plans for a government-in-exile should Russian forces overrun Kyiv.

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“The Ukrainians have plans in place that I’m not going to talk about, or get into any details on, to make sure that there is, what we would call, continuity of government, one way or another,” Blinken said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has refused to leave the capital since Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24.

Original Location: Ukraine readies to move data and servers out of country: Report

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