Cyber Warfare in Estonia?

In 2007, an act of cyber sabotage against Estonia directly impacted their government officials and civilian population. Estonian government decided to move a Soviet-era Bronze Soldier from the center of the city of Tallinn to a military cemetery on the outskirts of the city. The notion provoked outrage amongst Russian citizens and protesters took to the streets. It also provoked a series of cyber-attacks that put cash machines and online banking services for Estonian citizens out of service, prevented government employees from being able to communicate over email, and rendered newspapers and broadcasters incapable of delivering the news (McGuinness).

Russians were notably upset with the notion of moving a Soviet-era war memorial. It was evident that they were not in support of this action and Russian citizens and protesters took the streets. The Estonians were the victims of cyber sabotage that rendered cash machines and online banking services for Estonian citizens out of service, prevented government employees from being able to communicate over email, and rendered newspapers and broadcasters incapable of delivering the news (McGuinness). After in depth investigation into the cyber-attacks it was found that the IP addresses that launched the attacks came from Russia and online instructions were in the Russian language. Estonian government officials noted the attack, “was orchestrated by the Kremlin” (McGuinness).

Cyber sabotage is a unique kind of cyber-attack. Cyber sabotage entails a series of cyber actions that work to deprive individuals of services or disrupt normal processes and functionality. This can be done through destruction of hardware, damaging hardware, or simply overwhelming a network with activity. In the case of the Estonia attack, an influx of DDoS packets overwhelmed the network, not causing any destruction but debilitating web services.

Cyber-sabotage is very concerning and should be recognized as something society needs to assess. Due to the lack of any lasting physical damage from the Estonia attack the threat of the action itself seems to be overlooked. Failing to hold anyone responsible for the action has the potential to set a precedence that suggests countries can get away with these kinds of attacks. The precedence that is set through the toleration of these cyber-attacks could be potentially dangerous as their prominence, relevance, and potential for damage continue to increase in the future. The necessity for doctrine in regards to what constitutes an illegal use of force, and potentially an act of war needs to be established in order to deter this exploitation from growing out of control.

References:

“A Fierce Domain” Healy, McGuinness, Damien.

“How a cyber attack transformed Estonia.” BBC News, BBC, 27 Apr. 2017.