Latest in Estonia
The U.S. doesn’t have a civilian cyber defense. Here’s why it should and how it should be implemented.
This week's episode goes back a decade and a half to the 2007 cyberattacks on Estonia—and brings the conversation to today.
I have a confession to make: Since I used my Estonian digital ID card to swap letters with President Toomas Ilves, I have barely touched it. I keep it in my wallet, prepared to prove my identity at a moment’s notice to anyone online who demands proof that I really am Benjamin Wittes. I am ready, desperate even, to digitally sign things. I am eager to swap encrypted, signed documents with anyone who has important business to transact with me.
The other day, I received a letter from Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves. It came in the form of an unadorned Microsoft Word file called "wittes.docx." It did not bear President Ilves's John Hancock. Nor was it on the letterhead of the office of the Estonian Presidency.
The FBI v. Apple flap exploded on the public scene just as I was learning my way around my new Estonian e-Residency card, which promises—among other things—secure communications between card holders. I am currently working on the next piece in my series about Estonian e-Residency, so more on the card later.
I know that many Lawfare readers have been waiting with bated breath—the suspense unbearable—to find out what happens next in my quest for Estonian digital residency.
I just received the following email from the Estonian police and border guard concerning my application for digital residency in the Baltic country:
In reference to my application for digital residency in Estonia, I received the following email last week:
This week, I had the pleasure of hosting the third Hoover Book Soiree, which featured Edward Lucas of the Economist talking about his new book, Cyberphobia: Identity, Trust, Security, and the Internet. (We will podcast the discussion next week.) As a general matter, Lucas paints a bleak picture of our cybersecurity landscape, but he holds out one nation as an exception we all should emulate: the tiny Baltic country of Estonia.