Cyber security in Estonia

Introduction

Estonia has focused on cyber security for quite some time now and takes pride in its achievements in the field. It's a given then that the cyber security situation here is generally above the global standard.

NCSI

The NCSI or the National Cyber Security Index ranks countries based on their development level in several cybersecurity-related fields. According to the NCSI, Estonia currently ranks 5th in the world, only beaten by Greece, Lithuania, Belgium and the Czech Republic.

The top 5 countries. NCSI

They also provide a fairly in-depth analysis of what capabilities the country lacks to achieve a better score. The NCSI attributes these shortcomings to Estonia:

• No cyber security strategy implementation plan
• No PhD level cyber security programme
• No regulated requirements for cryptosystems 
• No specific government entity to combat cybercrime

Other than the aforementioned shortcomings, the NCSI gives Estonia an otherwise perfect score. Some notable points include:

• The inclusion of cyber/computer safety competencies in primary/secondary school curriculums
• The existence of a dedicated military cyber operations unit, and its active participation in exercises
• Hosting of an international cyber security organization in the country (CCDCOE)

It should be mentioned that the NCSI is based in Estonia, but they don't seem to be doing anything to make our country seem better than it is.

Conclusion

Estonia is punching above its weight in cyber security right now, with people being actively educated about the basics in schools (although some people from the older generations can still be sort of clueless). The Estonian international cyber security situation is a bit better than its internal one though. There is no top-level cyber security education, no cybercrime unit and some lacking regulations.

References:

https://ncsi.ega.ee/ncsi-index/