Abstract
Disruptive developments in the field of information and communication technology have enabled malicious actors to turn elements of the digital ecosystem into information weapons in hybrid conflict. Estonia has tackled the new security realm with comprehensive national defence that is built upon understanding that the society itself is object of security and should provide appropriate safeguards and responses. Estonian conceptualisations of national cybersecurity, cyber psychological defence, strategic communications are elaborated in the light of actual seminal threat situations. Analysis of evolvement of the strategic documents guides the recommendations for even deeper blend of the technical cybersecurity culture with value-centric psychological defence and internationalisation of information security situational awareness and planning.
Highlights
The current case study elaborates Estonian comprehensive approach to national security
Facebook Head of Cybersecurity Policy noticed that “despite their misrepresentations of their identities, we found that these Pages and accounts were linked to employees of Sputnik, a news agency based in Moscow, and that some of the Pages frequently posted about topics like anti-NATO sentiment, protest movements, and anti-corruption” (Gleicher, 2019)
At the time NATO was initiating establishment of network of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) and Admiral mentioned that Estonia, known for its IT know-how should show some initiative in the field of cyber defence
Summary
The current case study elaborates Estonian comprehensive approach to national security. Barry Buzan highlights social vulnerabilities and threats that as ‘matters of language, religion and local cultural tradition all play their part in the idea of the state’, deserve protection from state against hostile impacts to societal security (1991: 123, 19). This kind of securitization is not absolute and normally is not governing gradual linguistic development by loans, evolutionary development of peaceful subcultures, changes of individual religious beliefs among population or vivid cultural life far beyond traditional folk music and dances. In public debates on societal security ‘information war’ is often mentioned, the concept has defuncted among Western doctrine development and academic research circles
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