Ponytail brigade fends off cyber threats

‘Ponytail’ warriors are ready to defend a country against cyber attack.

The European republic has a total headcount of just 1.3 million people, although it jostles alongside its old master.

The volunteer civilian computer experts include lawyers, teachers, and economists but form a Cyber Unit within the military of Estonia.

Estonia’s advanced technology is ahead of much of the world. Nearly all banking transactions are online and 30% of the votes in its last election were electronic.

But in 2007 it was subjected to one of the largest cyber attacks in history when data swamped the websites of government, parliament and banks. The attacker has never been identified, but it came right after a controversial decision to relocate a Soviet war memorial.

Recognising how life would be paralysed if critical services were to be removed in another such emergency, the country can now mobilise its cyber defenders. They are already regularly fending off lower level attacks.

The expertise this work requires means that governments have to pay high salaries to attract skilled workers.

Estonia instead formed a pool of civilian volunteers to rush in quickly in an emergency.

"We call them guys with ponytails – but we don't all have ponytails," said Tanel Tetlov, a 33-year-old volunteer member of the Cyber Unit.

Permanent staff number just three, but with volunteers, the unit monitors cyber attacks around the world identifying where it can the origins and targets of the assaults. The same countries tend to appear: America, Russia, China and Saudi Arabia.

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