Securing e-Estonia: Challenges, Insecurities, Opportunities

Abstract

Estonia, as a nation, has progressed considerably since the resumption of independence in 1991. A national embrace of digital technology has been integral to the modernisation of the state in the Post-Soviet era. This embrace of technology has driven digital innovation and has led to the moniker e-Estonia being utilised by both the international media and the Estonian government. Estonia is also notable for its pioneering work towards the establishment of norms in cyber security and excellence in e-governance, and existing research has noted that Estonia’s impact in these fields far exceeds that of most small nations (Crandall, 2014; Wrange & Bengtsson, 2019; Adamson, 2019). Yet Estonia’s rapid digitalisation of public and private life holds many contemporary security challenges. Those challenges are felt socially, politically, and technically in professional spaces and across wider Estonian society, where social and technical issues intersect. Estonia claims to be a ‘digital society’ with over 99% of public services available online (e-Estonia, 2019). Yet it is also arguably a digitally dependent society.

This thesis interrogates a top-down and a bottom-up perspective of e-Estonia ‘the digital society’ by exploring governmental geopolitics and the role of individual professional’s personal cyber security concerns, and the overlap between the two. This analysis of e-Estonia is the culmination of a research project which involved nearly two years of living and working in Estonia. Methodologically, the thesis utilises interviews with high-ranking digital professionals drawn from the cyber security community working in the Estonian public and private sectors. The conclusions of the thesis are drawn from these interviews alongside ethnographic observations and critical engagement with supporting geopolitical and security literature.

The purpose of the thesis is to demonstrate the diversity of challenges and insecurities that the ubiquitous digitalisation of society has posed to Estonia and its citizens. Conversely, the thesis also explores the opportunities this digitalisation has brought about. This thesis considers the relationship between Estonian citizens and the state, the geopolitical nature of contemporary cyber security relations and how Estonia uses its international recognition as a digital pioneer to expand its influence internationally. It highlights the challenges, the insecurities, and the opportunities of Estonia’s particular approaches to cyber security and ubiquitous e-governance. The thesis extrapolates wider lessons from these experiences and discusses their applicability in Estonia and beyond

Keywords: Estonia, e-Governance, Cybersecurity, Digitalisation, Russian-Baltic Relations, e-Estonia