Cyber War on Estonia

To tell you the truth, while I am half Estonian (my mom was born in Tallin) I have never felt particularly connected to the place. I went once when I was 12 during the Olympics that got banned by the West (we were followed by Soviet police - very James Bond) and then again in my twenties when my mom went there on loan from the Ontario government to help set up the first presidents office.

Probably unfairly, my biggest memory was meeting with the Minster of the Environment (I have no idea why my mom thought that was a good idea....) who razzed me about not coming back to help set up the fatherland and mocked Southern Europeans in front of my Southern European ex-husband. I was like, "guy, it's dark here during the day - why would i move?". Well actually, I didn't say that, I just smiled awkwardly hoping a fight wasn't going to break out between North and South right there on the spot.

But that was then, and this is now. Estonia is becoming one of the most progressive and forward thinking countries in the EU both culturally and technologically with a growing tech sector that rivals many. At the same time as this prosperity has also come tensions between Estonia and the Russian government spurned on by Russians inside Estonia who do not want to see Estonia remain an independent entity. This has gone as far, according to the Estonian government, to the point where Estonia is accusing the Russian government of being behind recent Cyber attacks.

Now warfare has gone in a different direction, and while less gruesome than land warfare, no less dangerous for a democracy in the making.

To read more find Ross Mayfield's blog and the many links within his blog posting