Russian hackers are weaponizing CRMs, Ukraine’s former foreign minister warns
Dr Dmytro Kuleba told IT leaders in London that everyday business software is being actively exploited by nation-states
IT leaders and network defenders must stop treating cyber attacks as theoretical risks and start viewing them as acts of war, Ukraine’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs warned attendees at Infosecurity Europe 2026.
Speaking to a packed auditorium at ExCeL, Dr Dmytro Kuleba, whose own journey to the conference was delayed after his vehicle struck Russian missile debris en route to Warsaw, delivered a sobering keynote on the intersection of kinetic warfare, cybersecurity, and business continuity.
Drawing heavily on Ukraine’s defense in the wake of the Russian invasion, Kuleba detailed how the modern battlefield has seamlessly merged with enterprise IT environments, transforming everyday business software into deadly espionage tools.
The weaponization of the software supply chain
In a stark warning to technology buyers about supply chain security, Kuleba revealed how routine customer relationship management (CRM) systems used by small businesses were exploited by Russian intelligence to track and target Ukrainian citizens.
“What Russian security services are doing is they break into CRM systems of fitness clubs, salons, and the loyalty programs of supermarkets to track your movements,” Kuleba explained.
He noted that he was personally ordered by Ukraine’s security services to change his gym and barber to avoid being tracked.
According to Kuleba, this intelligence gathering was facilitated by the decades-long proliferation of Russian-made software in the Ukrainian market. The data collected from these seemingly innocuous business systems was subsequently used for blackmail and kidnapping.
“If even CRMs can be weaponized, basically any type of business, even the smallest one, will have to invest more in cyber security to protect itself from such a breach,” he warned, pointing to an accelerating shift toward sovereign and secure tech stacks. “Do not trust products made by your potential enemy.”
Business continuity and the “Mike Tyson” approach
Kuleba also urged CIOs to rethink their approach to disaster recovery and business continuity planning (BCP).
He referenced the devastating December 2023 cyber attack on Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, which was brought offline after hackers compromised a single employee's account.
Despite the catastrophic breach, the telecom giant managed to completely restore and fence its systems within days.
For Kuleba, this level of recovery relies on deep environmental knowledge rather than rigid playbooks. Quoting boxer Mike Tyson’s famous adage that "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face," Kuleba detailed how he prepared his own ministry for war in late 2021.
“We started planning... What if we wake up one day and don’t have access to our emails? What if we lose connection to our embassies abroad?” he said. The ultimate solution wasn't a complex procedural manual, but a deep audit of their architecture and the physical evacuation of their core servers to a safe location abroad.
"When it happens, you plan not to follow the plan, but to know your environment perfectly and develop instincts of survival in this environment," Kuleba advised.
"If you care for your company, you have to prepare for the worst. If it happens, you will instinctively be capable of winning, even though your initial plan will be ruined."
Redefining enterprise resilience
Ultimately, Kuleba challenged the security industry's conventional definition of resilience, arguing that it is no longer about bouncing back from a singular, isolated incident.
Whether dealing with a massive influx of disinformation, signal-jamming on the frontlines, or persistent network intrusions, defenders must accept a harsh new reality.
“Resilience is not about being prepared to repair destruction,” Kuleba concluded. “Resilience is your ability to keep repairing the networks as destruction becomes the new normal.”
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