Evaluation and Analysis of Estonian Information Security Against Modern day Cyber Threats
Harvey Bendana
March 13th, 2009
SCAND455
e-Stonia and the Imminent Threat of the 21st Century
Cyber warfare is a reality in the 21st century. More and more societies rely on information systems to an ever increasing degree but many do not take into account the vulnerability that, inevitably, is part of the package. Estonia has proven to be one of the most wired nations on this planet. The Baltic state has come to be known as e-Stonia due to its technological leaps and bounds in beneficially integrating information systems into it's society. "The eagerness with which the Estonians apply up-to-date IT solutions clearly points to a high level of e-readiness...as well as to the conviction that modern technology can contribute to the construction of better and more efficient society1." Every Estonian citizen over the age of 15 carries a micro-chipped, registered ID card which allows for a secure and unique digital identity and allows for delivery of services instantaneously. It is the only country in the EU currently that has an online voting system. Over 90% of all bank transactions are done online and nearly 40% of the public read their news online. Companies such as IBM, Dell, and HP have established offices here with Microsoft planning to follow suite. The public can perform everyday tasks like paying for parking or buying lunch directly from their cellphone2. Estonia has been ranked 8 of 82 by the World Economic Forum in countries putting the Internet to practical use3. Estonia is also the site for NATO's Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence. The center conducts research and training on cyber warfare and include a staff of 30 persons, half of them specialists from the sponsoring countries, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Spain4. Now imagine a country so vested in information systems infrastructure falling victim to a full fledged...