IA1 – EVALUATION OF THE GLOBAL IMPACT OF THE ESTONIA CYBER EVENT
Sherquita Tucker
CSEC655 Section 9041

Table of Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. Background and Global Impact 4 3. Vulnerabilities in Cybersecurity Policy and Practices 5 4. Advantages of Reducing Vulnerabilities for Future Attacks 8 5. Disadvantages of Reducing Vulnerabilities for Future Attacks 8 6. Advantages of Improving Security Practices or Policies 9 7. Disadvantages of Improving Security Practices or Policies 10 8. Summary and Conclusion 12 References 14

IA1 – Evaluation of the Global Impact of the Estonia Cyber Event
1. Introduction
What if suddenly the safety systems of nuclear power plants unexpectedly malfunctioned, or
Furthermore, in 2000, Internet access was declared a basic human right by the Estonia’s government.
However, starting in latter part of April 2007 for two weeks, the eastern European nation underwent the first cyber-attack to threaten the national safety of an entire nation worldwide. The attacks began within hours of the relocation of the war memorial. Estonian computer specialist reported it as an unparalleled attack on the entire electronic infrastructure of a nation. Estonian officials stated that instructions were posted detailing how to disable Websites through the use of a denial of service attack on Russian language Internet forums. Although it was though by Estonian officials that the causes of the attacks were tied to the Russian government, there was not enough existing evidence to place accusations on any other nation.
Due to the attacks on Estonia, it is seen throughout societies as they increase their dependency on computer networks that cross nationwide borders, adversaries will try to destroy those networks through electronic attacks. The economic success of Estonia was erected mostly on its position as an "e-society," due to its paperless government and electronic voting. Ironically this put them in a position to possess a large number of potential targets.
The cyber-attacks were so critical that they were noticed by foreign governments. NATO, the U.S, and the