OpenAI gives cyber defence tools to Ukraine

The tech giant OpenAI will share its AI cyber defence system Daybreak for free with the Ukraine government to help it protect civilian infrastructure, like hospitals and power plants, from cyber-attacks.

According to the Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine (CERT-UA), the national cyber incident response team, Ukraine recorded nearly 6,000 attacks in 2025.

Daybreak is able to quickly identify weaknesses in digital systems and help develop fixes.

Under the deal, Ukraine will get access to OpenAI's advanced GPT 5.6 Sol model - a rival to Anthropic's Mythos and Fable.

George Osborne, former UK chancellor and now Head of OpenAI for Countries, said: "Protecting civilian infrastructure means defending it against both physical and digital attacks, so people can continue to live, work and access essential services."

Reacting to the news, Rafe Pilling, senior director of threat intelligence for the cybersecurity firm Sophos, said that Russian offensive cyber operations had been "a key component" of the Kremlin's aggression against Ukraine since 2014.

"Any initiative that strengthens Ukraine's already highly capable, but heavily burdened, cyber defence efforts is a welcome development and could provide a valuable force multiplier," he said.

Jamie MacColl, a senior research fellow specialising in cyber at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told the BBC western tech firms had been supporting Ukraine for some time - partly for altruistic reasons but also because they gain very valuable data and intelligence from an active conflict.