Today in the News
Thursday, April 12, 2018
10:00h EEST: Estonian Parliament Ground to Halt
Lawmakers at the Riigikogu - Estonia’s parliament - remain locked out of their computer systems at this hour. Cybersecurity experts call it a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. Malicious hackers get a large number of computers to simultaneously and continuously call the Estonian government’s servers. As the servers try to fulfill the fake requests, they are too busy to handle the real requests from government officials. Experts are calling this one of the worse DDoS attacks in history. For a country who once prided itself on the ubiquity and accessibility of its internet resources, the integration of government and technology has revealed incredible vulnerabilities as parliament works lays paralyzed by lack of computer access.
10:00h EEST: More Trouble in Estonian
Cyber attacks have spread from the Estonian parliament to the wider Tallinn network. Internet coverage across the city is incredibly spotty and growing worse. Critically, power grid systems have caused widespread brownouts across the city.
11:00h EEST: Protests Continue Over Linnahall
At this hour, protesters are gathering in Raekoja Plats, Tallinn’s main squares, over the Linnahall demolition. Several member of the protest we’ve spoken to don’t seem especially worried about the deteriorating situation of Tallinn’s cyber network. They find it a minor annoyance that they can’t live stream their protest but want to keep the focus on the “unjust” demolition of Linnahall.
12:00h EEST: Hospital Cyber Troubles
Baby Erik was born in the back of an ambulance parked in front of a cafe. The only problem is the government provided GPS system says that they’re in front of the East-Tallinn Central Hospital. The electronic systems of the hospital network in place have been corrupted. Appointments have been cancelled, the hospital’s backup generator cuts on-and-off at random, and some ambulances are being diverted.
13:00h EEST: Data Leaks Discovered
Recent cyber attacks in Estonia have prompted serious inquiries into the security of cyber infrastructure across Estonia. During a digital security sweep of their internal servers, the Reform Party of former Estonian PM Taavi Rõivas announced that their internal servers have in fact been breached and their data been stolen. Security experts are continuing to survey the extent of the data breach.
15:00h EEST: No Internet, No Peace
Most of downtown Tallinn remains without internet access. Angry residents take to the streets to demand answers from their government. Tensions have begun to rise between the two grous in the Raekoja Plats: the Linnahall protesters and the Internet protesters. The reporter who delivered this message had to use a fax machine.
[Updated 15:30h EEST]
Scenes of looting and trash can fires emerge from Linnahall and Raekoja Plats. The Estonian government has dispatched riot police to quell the situation.
16:00h EEST: Russian News: Estonian
RT, Sputnik and other Russian news outlets have released a story about police violence against protesters at Linnahall. A video on Pervii Kanal, Russian News, shows a woman with a bloodied face claiming to have been attacked by “nazi sympathizers” in Estonia.
16:45h EEST: “Fake News” From Russia
The Estonian government has decried the video from Russian sources as “fake news.” A prominent debunking site identifies the woman as an actress from several films in Ukraine. Rumors and debates of the authenticity of the video have heightened tensions across Tallinn. Violence in the square intensifies.
17:00h EEST: Trapped in the Riigikogu
Violence outside the Riigikogu, Estonia’s parliament, have trapped several members of Parliament inside. Violence across the Tallinn has continued to escalate. Local officials are reporting close to 200 injuries thus far.
20:00h EEST: First Protest Death in Estonia
Just a short while ago, a protester fell from the Riigikogu balustrade after trying to deliver a speech. The man, a resident of Narva, had ascended the balustrade to deliver a speech to the gathered crowds. The Russian media claim that he was pushed by riot police.
21:00h: Protests Spreading; Borders Closing
The number of protesters across Estonia has climbed to nearly 1000 people. Spreading violence from Tallinn to Narva has prompted border agents to halt all transit to and from Russia. Attempting to close such a fluid border has proven difficult and has further aggravated tensions in the majority Russian-identifying Narva.
23:00h EEST: Can NATO help?
Struggling with a cyber attack like from a scene of a Hollywood movie, the Estonian government has triggered NATO’s Article 4, calling for a consultation of allied powers to discuss the preservation of Estonia’s territorial and political integrity. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, originally created as a security alliance to defend against the Soviet Union, has struggled with coming up with a policy for cyber security.
Friday, April 13, 2018
00:28h PST: NATO at Stanford
While the Brussels headquarters undergoes major renovations, NATO delegations convene in Stanford, CA to discuss countermeasures and resolutions for the Estonian cyber attacks. Registration opens at 8:00h PST and opening remarks begin at 8:30h PST.
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