I am pleased to see that the CyCon conference continues to bring together such a diverse group of analysts, experts, academia and decision makers.
Thank you all for taking the time to share with others your knowledge and ideas.
Such an exchange is irreplaceable. Because from all the fields of security and defence, cyber is probably the one that changes the fastest. And therefore, it is the one that probably benefits the most from fresh perspectives. Perspectives and ideas that help us look “over the horizon,” as put forward by the theme of this year’s CyCon.
But of course, from Estonia’s perspective, there is no cyber conflict per se. There is just conflict, that extends into all domains. Estonia is a small democratic country directly bordering an authoritarian one. For Estonia there is no alternative to the concept of whole-of-government national defence. National defence must include all fields of life and every member of society. Resilience, preparedness and readiness for any crisis situation is everyones responsibility.
It goes without saying that cyber is one of the key components of our comprehensive national defence concept. All military plans and capabilities are only effective if they are supported by a credible cyber environment. Military power is not of much use if there is no functioning information and data exchange.
But already during peacetime, the cyber world allows our adversaries to cheaply and covertly subvert our society. Cyber attackers are becoming more and more unpredictable and crafty. All democracies today are struggling with new ways of foreign manipulation through internet platforms – from hacking and leaking, bot farms and trolls, to false information and “deep fakes”.
In 2023, the number of high impact cyber incidents in Estonia increased by 25% compared to the year before. This trend is similar in many other countries. The attackers are increasingly politically motivated and they increasingly benefit from better infrastructure and coordination.
Thus, cyberspace must be secure on a daily basis. This is moreover so, because our lifestyle is increasingly digital. Estonia is a digitalised society, with high trust in the digital services. Almost all parts of our lives – from schools and kindergartens to cow milking machines – are connected to the internet. And that's good, that's what we want. We want everyday tasks to be easy, convenient and fast. We want digital solutions to be the engines of our economies.
We don’t have to give up on that desire, even if it makes us more vulnerable. Instead, our defensive measures must modernize too. Digital innovation always has to be accompanied by similar innovation in cyber security. And in this sense, close cooperation between state institutions, the private sector, academia and volunteers is irreplaceable.
I hope that also today at this very conference we will find ways to keep cyber security in sync with the developments of the digital world of the future, and maybe even a step ahead.
As a former scientist, I believe in debate. New thoughts and ideas come to us when we open our minds to new perspectives and experiences of other people. Discussions with colleagues help us to test our ideas and discover connections with the ideas of others. Together we build new knowledge. I hope that this year’s CyCon is a good venue for that synergy.
Thank you!
