HELSINKI - Estonia's Ministry of Defense (MoD) has proposed presented a new proposal to establishing a national cyber defense unit (NCDU) of computer experts drawn mostly from the ranks of the Baltic country's electronics and computer communities.
The NCDU will operate as part of the Total Defense League, the all-volunteer paramilitary force that operates as part of Estonia's national defense infrastructure and which is partly financed by the MoD.
"The Total Defense League is tasked with bringing together specialists in cyber defense who work in the private sector, as well as in different government agencies. The new unit will conduct regular exercises and engage in activities and projects to better prepare this country for possible cyber contingencies," said Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo.
The initiative is one of a number of improvements to the government's national cyber defense strategy, Phase 1 of which was implemented after a wave of cyber attacks - orchestrated by unknown groups in Russia - disabled key segments of the country's government administration, defense, banking and media infrastructure in 2007.
The Estonian economy, in contrast to other European Union nations, is seen as particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks because most standard services offered to the public by government agencies, banks and others are primarily accessed online.
NATO, responding to an Estonian government request for help, agreed to fund and organize the establishment of the Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence (CCD-COE), Europe's first dedicated cyber defense center. The CCD-COE opened in Tallinn in May 2008. NATO uses the center to enhance its own cyber defense capability while providing support to Estonia's cyber defense agencies and systems.
Primary funding for the CCD-COE is provided by Estonia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia and Italy. These countries also supply the center with most of its specialist cyber defense staff. The new NCDU initiative will see the Total Defense League form a special liaison group to correlate its activities and intelligence with the CCD-COE.
The NCDU will operate as part of the Total Defense League, the all-volunteer paramilitary force that operates as part of Estonia's national defense infrastructure and which is partly financed by the MoD.
"The Total Defense League is tasked with bringing together specialists in cyber defense who work in the private sector, as well as in different government agencies. The new unit will conduct regular exercises and engage in activities and projects to better prepare this country for possible cyber contingencies," said Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo.
The initiative is one of a number of improvements to the government's national cyber defense strategy, Phase 1 of which was implemented after a wave of cyber attacks - orchestrated by unknown groups in Russia - disabled key segments of the country's government administration, defense, banking and media infrastructure in 2007.
The Estonian economy, in contrast to other European Union nations, is seen as particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks because most standard services offered to the public by government agencies, banks and others are primarily accessed online.
NATO, responding to an Estonian government request for help, agreed to fund and organize the establishment of the Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence (CCD-COE), Europe's first dedicated cyber defense center. The CCD-COE opened in Tallinn in May 2008. NATO uses the center to enhance its own cyber defense capability while providing support to Estonia's cyber defense agencies and systems.
Primary funding for the CCD-COE is provided by Estonia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia and Italy. These countries also supply the center with most of its specialist cyber defense staff. The new NCDU initiative will see the Total Defense League form a special liaison group to correlate its activities and intelligence with the CCD-COE.