ESTONIAN CYBERWAR

(2007)

Also known as the 2007 Cyber-Attacks onEstonia, the events involved a massive, multipronged denial of service (DoS) attack and more sophisticated forms of cyberwarfare directed at Estonian government servers, as well as various websites associated with Estonia. The attacks crippled the country’s e-government system, which is seen as one of the most advanced in the world. Estonia’s foreign minister accused the Kremlin of having a hand in the attacks. While direct Russian involvement was never proved, the attacks were clearly a response to a decision by the Estonian parliament (Riigikogu) to relocate the “Bronze Soldier,” a Sovietera war memorial commemorating those who died liberating Estonia from Nazi control, to the outskirts of Tallinn.The statue has particular significance to theethnic Russiancommunity in the Baltic republic, and its removal was taken as a further instance of ethnic prejudice on the part of the Estonian government toward its Russian population. Many of the attacks were directed from the breakaway republic ofTransnistria. A member of the pro-KremlinNashi>youth group later admitted organizing the attacks, though many observers claimed the scale and scope of the attacks suggested support from the Russiansecurity servicesand/or major corporate/mafiainterests. The crisis forced theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) to begin to develop plans for responding to and defending its members against cyberspace-based attacks.

See alsoForeign relations.