Military authorities as institutions for ensuring information security of Ukraine

Abstract

Today in Ukraine military authorities are the institutions carrying out the main workload for ensuring information security and information sovereignty of the state. Compared to civilian authorities, military authorities are vested with administrative and jurisdictional powers that enable them to respond more quickly to the threats to the national information environment. The important feature of the competence in the field of ensuring information security by military authorities is that the functions and powers of the information character are exercised by each of them within the scope of their own substantive competence in accordance with the purpose of the activities.

In this article, on the basis of the analysis of the legal status of the military authorities of Ukraine, the special powers of the military authorities in the sphere of ensuring information sovereignty of Ukraine, of the protection of the national information space from informational sabotage and of other spiteful actions which can result in negative consequences are identified. In particular, the special powers in the sphere of ensuring information security of Ukraine of such bodies as the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection of Ukraine, the Department of the State Guard of Ukraine, intelligence agencies are provided in this article.

It is emphasized that that the scope of powers in the field of ensuring information security of Ukraine is similar for many military authorities, which leads to the duplication of functions. Accordingly, it is advisable to formulate legislative proposals to introduce organizational and legal mechanisms for their delimitation. It is also substantiated that it is rational to expand the legal basis for the interaction of military authorities with civilian authorities and civil society institutions in the process of fulfilling the tasks for ensuring information security of the state.