In response to the government's removal of a monument honoring Soviet World War II veterans, a pro-Kremlin hacker group launched its greatest wave of cyberattacks in more than ten years, which Estonia successfully repelled.
Luukas Ilves, Estonia's under-secretary for digital transformation at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, stated that "yesterday saw the most significant cyberattacks against Estonia since 2007".
According to reports, the former Soviet state removed a Red Army monument from Tallinn Square this week, and the eastern city of Narva also got rid of a Soviet-era tank. After Russia invaded Ukraine, the authorities vowed to remove hundreds of these monuments by the end of the year.
On Wednesday, the Russian hacker gang Killnet claimed responsibility for the attacks and stated a wave of DDoS attacks have allegedly been launched against the 200 websites of public and private sector organizations in response, including an online citizen identity system.
A replica Soviet Tu-34 tank from World War II was taken off the public display on Tuesday in the town of Narva, close to Estonia's border with Russia, and brought to the Estonian War Museum in Viimsi, according to Killnet, which claimed responsibility for a similar attack against Lithuania in June.
It's worth noting as based on sources, that the DDoS attacks timed with a Russian media fake news campaign alleging that the Estonian government was destroying Soviet war graves. The country's ethnic Russians reportedly rioted as a result of this.
Estonia's Cybersecurity
According to the National Cyber Security Index, the nation has a 17 percentage point advantage over the average for Europe and is placed third in the ITU Global Cybersecurity Index 2020.
After experiencing significant DDoS attacks on both public and private websites in 2007, Estonia, a country that is a member of the European Union and NATO, took steps to strengthen its cybersecurity. It attributed these attacks to Russian actors who were enraged over the removal of another Soviet-era monument at the time.
The nation's e-government services, along with other industries including banking and the media, were significantly disrupted throughout the weeks-long campaign. The dismantling of a monument honoring the Soviet Red Army also sparked the attacks.
The Tallinn memorial served as a grim reminder of Estonia's 50 years of Soviet captivity to the government and many Estonians, while other ethnic Russians saw its removal as an attempt to obliterate their past.
The incident did, however, motivate the government to step up its cybersecurity efforts, and as a result, it is today thought to have one of the best defensive positions of any international government.
