Estonian PM: Cyber security ensured by readiness for worst-case scenarios

  • 2022-11-23
  • BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN – Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said in her opening speech at the annual national cyber security conference on Wednesday that the functioning of the entire world we are familiar with, from healthcare to energy, is related to cyber security, and in order to feel safe, one must always be prepared for even the worst possible scenarios.

The prime minister commended all Estonian specialists who keep our cyberspace safe on a daily basis.

"15 years ago, Estonia was targeted by large-scale cyber attacks. This opened the eyes of many countries to the need to pay attention to cyber security as well. Next to Russia's conventional war, the hybrid war against Ukraine and other countries has once again made this significance especially clear," Kallas said.

The prime minister stressed that adversaries are always looking for weak points in order to wound us.

"We have to be prepared, and for that we have to think through and practice all the worst-case scenarios. We are stronger when we are prepared," Kallas said.

She also spoke about the importance of information exchange in ensuring cyber security: we must be transparent, exchange information with partners and prevent a situation in which only the adversary's version of what is happening is heard when talking about cyber incidents.

"When information is shared by dark forces, light forces must also do so," she said.

The prime minister pointed out that when talking about cyber security, one must never forget the person. We can build strong systems, but if the person is not the strongest link in the chain, a real threat can always emerge namely from that. Kallas added that the basis of facing the future is trusted connectivity -- we must ensure that our connections are with partners with whom we also share common values.

In order to ensure the sustainability and cyber security of the digital state, an additional 42 million euros per year have been earmarked from the state budget for the next four years.