Case Study analysis of Historic Cyber Attack

Estonia 2007: Targeting a nation-state

Abstract

The advance and extensive applications of the Internet services has aided in forming a more challenged space, where individuals with contradictory ideas and values attempt to get to the top by attacking the services and systems of other individuals or groups. Cyberwarfare is also a type of information war, which requires political motivation for hacking information to conduct espionage and disruption. The case study of cyber-attacks against Estonia, in 2007, reflects the threat to national security from informal non-state cyber reservists.

Table of Contents

Abstract1

Introduction1

Discussion1

Case Study: Cyber attacks against Estonia1

Methods of Attack3

Response of Estonia3

Conclusion4

References5

Case Study analysis of Historic Cyber Attack

Estonia 2007: Targeting a nation-state

Introduction

The paper strives to present the thorough analysis of a historic cyber crime attack in Estonia. In 2007, the cyber attack disabled the computer networks in the tiny Baltic country of Estonia. This cyber attacked disabled computer networks of various Estonian organizations such as Estonian banks, newspapers and broadcasters, Estonian ministries and Estonian parliament. The paper presents an analysis of the motivation of the attackers, the methods of attack and the response of the Estonian government.

Discussion

Case Study: Cyber attacks against Estonia

Estonia is considered as one of the most wired countries in Europe. In April and May 2007, cyber attacks, by internet hackers, flooded the various Estonian government and corporate websites. Many experts believe that the cyber attacks against Estonian government and corporates, utilized hundreds of thousands of computers.

On April 26, 2007, this online attack made the Estonian government to move a Soviet World War II memorial out of Tallinn, Estonian capital. This move triggered the intensified public opinions among the Russian minority population in Estonia, as well as, in Russia.

The cyber attacks on Estonian government and corporate agencies still creates an enormous concern from governments around the world. Huge political interests in Estonian cyber attacks were also found due to the possible reinterpretation of NATO's Article 5, which had been appealed only once after the attacks of September 11, 2001. There has been a great potential for incorporating cyber attacks in the interpretation of NATO's Article 5 (Geers, 2008).

Motivation of the AttackersCyber security threats have experienced a huge change, over the last decade, in terms of its focus shift from criminal attacks to politically motivated attacks (Nazario, 2009). A politically motivated attack will be based upon defacement of websites of political parties or government agencies, which are of slight interest to the criminals and intelligence agencies.

The series of cyber attacks in Estonia, during April and May 2007, are a type of Cyberwarfare, which possessed political motivation for hacking information, from the government and corporate websites in order to conduct espionage and sabotage. The mutilation of the Estonian Prime Minister's political party website, on April 27 by a hacker, also reflects political motivations behind these cyber attacks. The hacker changed the homepage text, of the Estonian Prime Minister's political party website, into a fake excuse for moving the Soviet World War II memorial out ...