Age: 26
Education: Master of Law from Lviv State University of Internal Affairs
Profession: Lawyer
Did you know? She enjoys playing tennis.
Ukraine has a long way to go in protecting personal information and educating people about digital security.
Lawyer Anastasiia Apetyk is working to change that, teaching Ukrainian judges, police officers and children about the importance of digital security and data protection.
“We don’t have an established culture of respect for privacy and for personal data protection,” Apetyk told the Kyiv Post. “That’s why we are trying to popularize this subject.”
Apetyk began her career as an intern in the Ombudsman’s Office, specifically, the department of personal information protection, which shaped her future career. Today, Apetyk is one of the pioneers in digital security and data protection.
Ukrainian legislation is far behind much of the world in cybersecurity and protecting children’s rights online. For example, there are too few options to protect a minor from inappropriate or even illegal information online, says Apetyk.
“To this day, there are zero court rulings on banning illegal content online,” she says.
Apetyk has created the first course on digital rights and security for children, teaching kids about the importance of strong passwords, two-factor identification and what should and should not be shared online.
“We explain what digital rights are, why privacy is important, why protecting your personal information is important, banking information, emails, passwords, photos and so on,” says Apetyk.
According to Apetyk, almost all personal information stored online can be bought.
“Unfortunately, selling (databases with) personal information is widespread,” says Apetyk. “We see that databases involving personal information from banks, police and so on are often leaked.”
Ukraine lacks a data protection system in government. We often don’t know who collects our personal information, for what reasons and who might access it in the future, says Apetyk.
Previously, Apetyk made an effort to change the system from within, having spent most of her career representing the police in court and teaching law enforcement about digital rights.
“I initiated a workshop for police about digital rights and data protection,” says Apetyk. “There were multiple cases when police officers didn’t understand the topic and we taught them about digital rights so that they don’t violate them in the future.”
Apetyk remains positive about Ukraine’s future. She points out that Ukraine’s legislation is gradually becoming compatible with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulations.
However, she adds that Ukraine “catastrophically” lacks specialists and teachers on the subject.
“When I started my master’s degree, in 2015, it was the first year we had a course on digital security,” says Apetyk.
