Biggest Cyber Threat? Cyber Expert, Ambassador to US Point to Nation-States

Rogue hackers pose a problem for the nation’s cyber defenses, but according to a cybersecurity expert and an ambassador to the U.S., the biggest threat comes from much larger forces.

At a Thursday event, Dmitri Alperovitch, president of Asymmetric Cyber Operations LLC, put nation states ahead of other threats such as terrorist groups, hacktivist collectives and organized crime, NextGov…

Estonian Telecom Services Provider Fights Off Cyber Attack

An unidentified hacker launched a cyber attack against Estonian telecom service provider Elion’s email system, attempting to gain access to 70,000 client accounts, Estonian Public Broadcasting reports.

An investigation determined the intruder failed to access passwords and content. The attack, which came from outside of Estonia, was the largest cyber attack Elion has experienced, the company’s Chief Technical Engineer Kalev Reiljan told Postimees.

The cyber assault began June…

US Intel to Open Cyber Office in Estonia

U.S. intelligence is scheduled to open an office in Tallinn, Estonia, this week to help fight the battle against cyber crime, the U.S. embassy in Estonia announced today.

“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…

Estonia Fights Cyber Threat with Volunteer Cyber Army

When other countries struggle to find skilled cybersecurity professionals to safeguard networks and systems, Estonia is the first nation in the world to tap a volunteer cyber workforce of programmers, computer scientists and software engineers as defenders of the nation’s digital battlefield.

Called the Cyber Defense League, the volunteer organization in…

Cost of ‘Web War I’: 10 Million Euros

New documents released by WikiLeaks reveal the 2007 cyber attacks against Estonia, also called Web War I, cost the nation’s largest bank Hansabank at least 10 million euros, nearly $13 million, according to Baltic Business News.

According to a memo leaked by the whistle-blower website, the impact of the cyber attack on SEB and Estonian…

Cyber Attack Ruled Out in Estonia’s Largest-Ever Telecom Outage

After the network of one of the Estonia’s largest telecommunication companies Elion was disrupted throughout Estonia for an hour Nov. 17, the company has ruled out cyber attack and instead looked into the possibility of unknown saboteurs.

“Before we have finished the analysis, we can’t  be 100 percent sure that there wasn’t any kind of outside influence,” Elion Technology Director Kalev Reiljan told Eesti Päevaleht.

According to Elion, the disruption was…

Global Cyber War Could Be ‘Worse Than a Tsunami’

International cyberwar would be “worse than a tsunami” and should be avoided by a global cybersecurity peace treaty, said the head of the International Telecommunications Union Hamadoun Touré.

Touré, who serves as secretary-general of the U.N. agency, has targeted cybersecurity issues in his electoral pledges. Speaking in London yesterday, he said he had…

Unstoppable Cyber Army Would Only Take 2 Years

It would take only two years and around $100 million to develop an unstoppable cyber army, according to a former NSA official. Charlie Miller, who currently serves as a researcher with Independent Security Evaluators, demonstrated a plan to develop a cyber army at the DefCon meeting in Las Vegas.

Miller said he was asked by…

Hathaway and Schneier Speak at Cyber Conference

Last week, experts from around 40 countries met at the Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Estonia’s capital Tallinn to discuss cybersecurity issues. Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves gave the opening remarks, warning about cyber crime.

Melissa Hathaway, President of Hathaway Global Strategies and leader of the 60-day Cyberspace Policy…

Open Society Makes Estonia a Target for Cyber Attacks

Experts from nearly 40 countries met in Estonia yesterday to discuss the latest issues in fighting cyber attackers and address the asymmetric nature of web-based threats.

Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves offered opening remarks at the international conference organized by the NATO-accredited Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Estonia’s capital Tallinn. He warned about the severity of cyber crime, saying how there have already been cases of actual…