Estonia announced that they have blocked a wave of cyber-attacks conducted by Russian hackers against local institutions.
According to Undersecretary for Digital Transformation, Luukas Ilves, Estonia was hit by the most extensive wave of DDoS attacks it has faced since 2007. The DDoS attacks which targeted both public institutions and the private sector were claimed by the Pro-Russia hacker group Killnet.
Ilves confirmed that Estonian cyber units were able to block the attacks and that the e-Estonia services were not disrupted.
e-Estonia refers to a movement by the government of Estonia to facilitate citizen interactions with the state through the use of electronic solutions. E-services created under this initiative include i-Voting, e-Tax Board, e-Business, e-Banking, e-Ticket, e-School, University via internet, the E-Governance Academy, and also the release of several mobile applications.
The head of Estonia’s computer emergency response team, Tonu Tammer, said that the attacks hit the websites of local authorities, including the police and the government. A logistics firm was also hit in the attack.
The Killnet group declared to have hit Estonia as a retaliation for the Baltic state’s removal of a Soviet-era World War II memorial this week.
The Baltic state had decided to take down the Soviet T-34 tank from a pedestal in Narva — a border city with a large Russian-speaking minority — and transfer it to the Estonian War Museum. The government had accused Russia of using such monuments to stir up tensions.
The Killnet group that has been active since March, had launched DDoS attacks against governments that expressed support to Ukraine, including Italy, Romania, Moldova, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Norway, and Latvia.
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