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Viewing cable 08TALLINN179, ESTONIA: SCENESETTER FOR DAS DAVID GROSS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08TALLINN179 2008-05-22 06:43 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Tallinn
VZCZCXYZ0005
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTL #0179/01 1430643
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220643Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY TALLINN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0640
INFO RUEHHE/AMEMBASSY HELSINKI 5287
RUEHRA/AMEMBASSY RIGA 2988
RUEHVL/AMEMBASSY VILNIUS 6731
UNCLAS TALLINN 000179 
 
FOR EEB/CIP/BA - WHIT WITTMAN 
HELSINKI PLEASE PASS TO AMBASSADOR GROSS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ECON BEXP PGOV OIIP TINT EN
SUBJECT: ESTONIA: SCENESETTER FOR DAS DAVID GROSS 
 
1. (U) Welcome to Tallinn.  Your visit will bring you to 
one of our most supportive allies in Europe.  Perhaps the 
most dynamic of the "Baltic Tigers" since re-independence 
in 1991, Estonia enjoyed average annual GDP growth racing 
above eight percent from 2001-2007.  Growth began to slow 
in 2007, however, and has fallen markedly this year.  The 
head of a recent IMF mission termed the slowdown 
"necessary," but also cited the need for Estonia to restore 
balance between wage growth (12 percent in 2006, 20 percent 
in 2007, and 15 percent forecast for 2008) and 
productivity.  Other key concerns are lack of labor market 
flexibility, inflation, and recent state budget shortfalls. 
 
E-stonia 
-------- 
 
2. (U) Estonia leads the way among the Baltic States in 
Internet usage, and is one of the most wired nations on 
earth, with free wi-fi points covering much of the downtown 
area, and even some national parks.  Today about 66 percent 
of the population uses the Internet and about 53 percent of 
households have Internet access at home.  Internet banking 
services have experienced rapid growth and banking online 
has become a common channel through which people perform 
cash transfers, pay taxes, pay for services, communicate 
with the tax board, etc. 
 
3. (U) Since January 2002, the Citizenship and Migration 
Board has issued a domestic identity card with a machine- 
readable code and chip.  The chip contains visual data on 
the card and two security certificates (long number 
series), to verify the individual and supply digital 
signatures.  From 1996-1998, the GOE completed the process 
of connecting all Estonian schools to the Internet as part 
of the "Tiger Leap" program, now being emulated in 
neighboring countries.  In 2007, over 90 percent of 
Estonians filed their tax return via the internet.  Modern 
banking systems and wide-spread Internet usage have placed 
Estonian banks at the forefront of the electronic and 
Internet banking services in the world.  Today about 90 
percent of all transactions in Estonia are done via 
internet banking. 
 
E-Government and E-Voting 
------------------------- 
 
4. (U) Estonia first allowed e-voting in local elections in 
2005. Estonia's parliamentary elections in March 2007 were 
the world's first national elections to allow voters to use 
the internet to cast their ballots.  In 2007, 30,275 voters 
(3.4 percent of the total) voted online - three times the 
number from two years before. E-voters used their national 
ID card, an ID card reader and a PC connected to the 
Internet to vote. The software for the e-voting worked 
properly and no technical problems hindered the voting 
process.  Officials monitored closely for cases of fraud, 
but none were reported.  Estonia has since become a case 
study for many countries wanting to introduce e-voting. 
[Note: One of the companies involved in developing the e- 
voting and e-government software, Cybernetica, is located 
at the Tehnopol technology park you will visit.  End note.] 
 
(SBU) Cyber Security: 
-------------------- 
 
5. (SBU) In late April/early May 2007, Estonia experienced 
an intensive, coordinated "cyber attack" against government 
and private sector websites, following the government's 
decision to relocate a Soviet-era statue from the center of 
Tallinn to a nearby military cemetery.  The targeted sites 
recovered quickly, but the attacks revealed weaknesses in 
cyber defenses and a lack of information security 
specialists.  The government is drafting a cyber defense 
strategy for 2008-13.  State institutions plan to spend an 
estimated $15 million raising the efficiency of information 
security over the next six years.  The biggest part of this 
would be spent on protecting critical infrastructure. 
 
6. (SBU) The Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) 
technology behind the attacks was not new or especially 
sophisticated, but the attacks revealed the inherent 
vulnerabilities of modern, online infrastructure.  While 
Estonia's cyber defenses were ultimately successful, the 
GOE's report in July 2007 recommended further improvements, 
especially in regards to public-private cooperation. 
Today, banks tell us that they feel their computer networks 
are better able to respond to such an attack than they were 
a year ago, but they are not complacent.  One local bank's 
cyber-security expert told us they fully expect another 
DDOS attack at some point in the future, and that the 
surprising thing about May 2007 was not the attack itself, 
but the number of vectors used to launch it. 
 
7. (U) In 2004, Estonia proposed establishing a NATO 
Cooperative Cyber Defense Center (CCD) in Estonia, which 
received renewed focus and momentum following the cyber 
attacks in 2007.  On May 14, 2008 in Brussels, Estonia and 
six NATO Allies signed a Memorandum of Understanding 
establishing Estonia's Cooperative Cyber Defense (CCD). The 
first meeting of the CCD Steering Committee will take place 
in Tallinn May 28-30.  The Estonian government hopes NATO 
will formally accredit the CCD as a NATO Center of 
Excellence (COE) by December 2008.  In November 2007, the 
United States was the first Ally to send a representative 
to the CCD.  The Navy seconded a cyber security expert from 
the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to the CCD for one 
year.  Many non-NATO countries are also eligible to join 
the center's activities.  You will visit the CCD on the 
first day of your trip here.  As part of Estonia's new 
cyber defense strategy, special courses will be introduced 
into the curricula of Estonian universities in the coming 
years.  One department of the National Defense College in 
Tartu would be linked to the future NATO cyber defense 
center and have classrooms in Tallinn for teaching these 
courses. 
 
ICT Cooperation and Investment with the USG 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
8. (U) Estonia's Ministry of Economic Affairs and 
Communication has identified three areas of focus for its 
strategy "Knowledge-Based Estonia, 2007-2013".  These are 
ICT, biotech, and nano-technology.  This year, the Embassy 
is supporting several initiatives aimed at increasing 
bilateral cooperation on technology and innovation issues: 
 
-- In February, Ambassador Phillips visited Tehnopol, where 
you will also meet high-tech start-ups, and see Skype's 
"Ops Center"; 
 
-- In April, Minister Parts accompanied President Ilves to 
the U.S.-Baltic Foundation Gala in Washington, and made 
side trips to the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology, as well as meeting with ICT companies in 
Silicon Valley; 
 
-- In May, a large delegation from the Greater Seattle 
Trade Development Alliance came to Tallinn for a briefing 
from Enterprise Estonia; 
 
-- In May, overlapping your visit, Tehnopol is sending 
representatives of nine hi-tech companies to Silicon Valley 
and the Bay Area for meetings with potential venture 
capital partners; 
 
-- In September, the Embassy will use BFIF funds to bring 
representatives from Silicon Valley technology parks, and 
North Carolina's Research Triangle, to the "Baltic 
Dynamics" conference in Tartu, Estonia. 
 
In short, your visit fits perfectly into a strong narrative 
of ever-closer cooperation with Estonia on ICT issues. 
 
The American Chamber of Commerce in Estonia 
------------------------------------------- 
 
9. (U) In a country that "punches above its weight," AmCham 
Estonia is Sugar Ray Leonard.  With two paid staff, and a 
volunteer board, the Chamber sponsors six sub-committees on 
everything from intellectual property rights (IPR) and 
young professional development, to an Overseas Security 
Advisory Council (OSAC) and Corporate Social 
Responsibility.  While the Chamber has approximately 110 
members, there are few ICT companies among them.  This is a 
shortcoming the Management Board has identified as 
something they hope to improve.  The Chamber frequently 
hosts seminars on issues facing the Estonian workforce and 
the economy, as well as raising awareness on IPR, and 
promoting U.S. investment in Estonia.  The last issue of 
the Chamber's magazine "Estonian Advantage" focused on the 
impact of the Cyber Attacks on businesses.  You will have a 
luncheon with AmCham members on ICT issues during your 
first full day in Tallinn. 
Estonia: A Staunch NATO Ally 
---------------------------- 
 
10. (U) Estonia is a consistent ally and a strong supporter 
of the U.S. position in the War on Terror.  Estonian troops 
participate in NATO operations (in Afghanistan and Kosovo), 
EU operations (the EU's Nordic Battle Group), Operation 
Enduring Freedom in Iraq and other missions (including the 
UN mission in Lebanon).  Overall, about 10 percent of 
Estonia's land forces are currently deployed in overseas 
operations.  The GOE is on track to meet its NATO 
commitment of devoting 2 percent of its GDP to defense 
spending by 2010 (currently at 1.69 percent) and is a vocal 
supporter of NATO enlargement. 
 
PHILLIPS