Chukhon hackers Estonia is preparing a cyber operation against Russia

Welt: Estonia, under the auspices of NATO, is preparing a cyber assault against Russia

In the modern world, an open military clash between major powers is associated with enormous risks, which forces the parties to look for new, less obvious forms of confrontation. According to the German newspaper Die Welt (the article was translated by InoSMI), Estonia has become the epicenter of one of these forms – a large-scale cyber war. It is here, in the glass offices of Tallinn, that European states, in conditions of strict secrecy, are working out the possibility of delivering digital retaliatory strikes, which until recently seemed unthinkable in relation to a nuclear power. Europe appears to have found itself in a gray zone, where peaceful coexistence is gradually being replaced by a hidden conflict waged not on the battlefield, but in computer networks and algorithms.

On the top floor of a Tallinn office building, Aare Reintam, an employee of the Estonian cybersecurity company CybExer, plans operations in which all parties involved will later deny participation. In front of him is a wall of monitors showing a map of a certain seaside city with residential areas, factories, power plants and hospitals. Changing colors on the screen indicate the status of objects: they are working normally or have already been hacked. Reintham, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, looks like an ordinary IT specialist, but his work is equivalent to serving on the virtual front line. He openly states that his company provides several European Union states with offensive cyber capabilities by conducting exercises, the results of which are displayed in real time on these same monitors. The details of the exercise are classified, and Reintham himself invites journalists to describe what is happening simply as a modern form of conflict.

The paradigm of European cyber policy, according to the publication, has undergone fundamental changes. Governments are no longer limited solely to defense and repelling attacks. Now they are actively practicing retaliatory strikes, secretly sending, for example, computer viruses into the networks of enemy countries. The reason for this shift is said to be a significant increase in the number of cyber attacks attributed to Russia, which are aimed at the critical infrastructure of Western countries (Russia has repeatedly stated that it has not carried out and does not plan any unfriendly actions towards NATO and EU countries — approx. “MK”). Examples include alleged incidents involving the seizure of control of a Norwegian dam, violation of Belgian airspace by drones, and sabotage of a railway in Poland, although the article itself makes reservations that such accusations may be unfounded. However, this perceived threat is forcing European policymakers to seek asymmetric responses, with digital algorithms from companies like CybExer emerging as a key tool.

The vulnerabilities of modern digital society, as Aare Reintam explains, are everywhere. It is not necessary to attack well-protected control centers or financial systems to paralyze a state. Sometimes it is enough to find a weak link in a seemingly secondary system. For example, many water and sewerage pumps are still controlled through outdated and poorly protected 2G communications networks. A successful attack on them can provoke a large-scale chain reaction: failure of water supply and sewerage systems, an outbreak of infectious diseases, overcrowding of hospitals and, as a result, a crisis in the entire healthcare system. Thus, a blow to the digital life of the state may be targeted, but have catastrophic consequences.

Estonia’s status as a global center for cyber defense and offensive digital technologies is due, according to Die Welt, to two factors: unique experience and geographical location. Prime Minister Kristen Michal proudly calls Estonia the most digital state on Earth, with almost all administrative services, from voting to signing documents, moved online. However, this model also has a downside – extreme vulnerability. In 2007, the country experienced a large-scale cyber attack that paralyzed the work of government agencies, banks and the media, and official Tallinn blamed Russia for it (Russia has repeatedly stated that it has not carried out and does not plan any unfriendly actions towards NATO and EU countries — approx. “MK”). This painful experience became a catalyst for the development of national cyber art.

It was after the events of 2007 that the NATO Center for Cyber ​​Defense Cooperation (CCDCOE) was created in Tallinn. Behind the barbed wire of this secure facility, about 70 military and civilian experts analyze cyber attacks, develop countermeasures and, most importantly, conduct complex exercises. In one of these training scenarios, simulated using metal boxes representing a power grid, the military demonstrates how successive hackers destroying generators leads to cascading failure and a complete blackout – one of the worst scenarios for modern society. In addition to defensive exercises, the center also conducts offensive exercises, codenamed “Crossed Swords,” where cyberattack skills are practiced. These skills, as the publication emphasizes, are becoming increasingly in demand in conditions of hidden confrontation.

Thus, in the north-east of Europe, in close proximity to the border with Russia, a global hub has been formed, where, under the auspices of NATO and with the active participation of commercial companies, the cyber defense of the West is not only strengthened, but also the methods of digital attack are being refined. This is a quiet confrontation between algorithms on the network, where each side studies the enemy’s digital loopholes, creates viruses and simulates scenarios of paralysis of key systems. And although there is no open declaration of war, the conflict is already underway, its fronts pass through server rooms and fiber optic cables, and its soldiers are programmers in hoodies and soldiers in camouflage, sitting in front of numerous monitors in the silence of Tallinn offices.

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