CybersecurityU.S. intelligence sets up cyber defense office in Estonia
Since gaining its independence in 1991, Estonia has become one of the most cyber-focused nations in the world; it also has its own experience with cyberwar: in 2007 Russian government-inspired hackers launched a massive cyber attack on Estonia after the Estonian government decided to move a statue commemorating the Red Army from the center of the capital to a more modest location; now the U.S. intelligence community has decided to open an office in the Estonian capital Tallinn to help bolster the fight against cyber-crime
The United States will open an office in the Estonian capital Tallinn to help bolster the fight against cyber-crime, the U.S. embassy in the Baltic state announced Wednesday.
“Estonia was selected as the site for the new secret service office due to both the investigative nexus it provides in combating cyber and financial crimes, as well as the opportunity it provides the agency in the fulfillment of its protective duties within the region,” embassy spokesman James Land told AFP.
The office, due to be opened Friday, will have a staff of four.
“Tallinn will also serve as a prime location from which to engage counterparts in Russia and throughout the Nordic region,” Land added.
AFP notes that Estonia is an IT industry hub.
After five decades of Soviet rule ended in 1991, the Baltic nation chose to go hi-tech as fast as possible. The European Union nation of 1.3 million became one of the world’s most cyber-focused nations, earning the nickname “E-stonia”.
Since falling victim to a Russian-based cyberwar in 2007, it has become a leader in finding ways to fending off online attacks, and hosts NATO’s IT-defense facility.
It also created a volunteer unit of cyber-experts late last year within the Estonian Defense League, a part-time force equivalent to the National Guard in the United States.
