Cyber Security in Estonia 2026

Hallis pintsakus mees seisab õues kõrge lumehange ees, käed rinnal risti. Taamal kuused, tänavavalgustuslamp ja korsten.

Trust that endures

Amid escalating threats and a deepening reliance on digital solutions, our resilience is shaped by how deliberately we manage risks and sustain trust, writes Gert Auväärt, Director of the National Cyber Security Centre, NCSC-EE.

Illustratsioon: väikesed mustad inimkujud lükkavad müürile lähemale ratastel puidust piiramismasinaid, mille rammi otsas on aju kirjaga "AI"

Cyberspace in 2025: a year of fraud

Cable faults, service outages and denial-of-service attacks were more frequent than expected in 2025. Above all, however, the year will be remembered for the record number of scams and the damage they caused.

Illustratsioon. Sinisel taustal monitor, arvuti ja klaviatuur. Klaviatuuri poole lendab teravaid nooli, mille tiibadel kiri DDoS

DDoS attacks: new groups target Estonia

Groups originating in the Middle East, North Africa, and South-East Asia also began targeting Estonia.

Illustratsioon. Üks mees seisab maas, teine kummardub välja arvuti paneelis olevast valgest aknalaadsest avast. Mõlemad hoiavad kinni valge pooliku pilve kujutise ühest otsast. Pilve peal on punane tabalukumärk.

Ransomware: new attacks, familiar mistakes

The number of ransomware attacks and the damage they cause continue to rise globally. In Estonia, the situation remains relatively stable, but we have also seen attacks that have led to serious disruption.

Illustratsioon: Sinisel taustal lebab valge nutitelefon. Punase ekraani keskel on must tabalukk.Telefoni äärel ilstub naeratav õngega mees ning õngenöör on sisenenud täpselt tabaluku lukuaugust.

A surge in scams cost people in Estonian 29 million euros

While warning signs had appeared earlier, 2025 saw the collapse of the language barrier that had previously offered at least some protection against scams.

Väljavõte graafikust. Registreeritud ummistusründed 2019–2025: 2019. a 17 305, 2020. a 18 349, 2021. a 20 154, 2022. a 25 043, 2023. a 28 816, 2024. a 39 967, 2025. a 48 176

2025 saw another record number of vulnerabilities

Serious vulnerabilities were found in network devices, industrial automation systems, operating systems and a wide range of other software.

Illustratsioon. Sinisel taustal suur kiri 2025, kus 0 asemel on maakera, mida hoiavad suured robotsõrmed.

The global cyber landscape in 2025

Ransomware attacks battered the reputations of well-known brands, North Koreans using fake identities attempted to infiltrate international technology companies, and large-scale service outages exposed critical dependencies.

Illustratsioon. Esiplaanil maadlevad Ukraina lipuvärvides mees ja karu peaga Venemaa lipuvärvides mees. Taamal sinisel taustal must elektrimast ja valge linnakontuur.

War in Ukraine’s cyberspace: the defence holds

For the first time since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine did not experience a cyberattack with a major societal impact in 2025.

Brigaadikindral Poti portree õlgadeni. Tumedate lühikeste juustega laigulises riietuses mees seisab lippude ees.

SSSCIP chief: A peace deal won’t bring peace in cyberspace

Brigadier General Oleksandr Potii, head of Ukraine’s State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection (SSSCIP), speaks about developments in Ukraine’s cyberspace over the past year and what others can learn from them.

Illustratsioon. Sõrmedel hoitakse taldrikut, millel istub part. Pardi rinnal on hieroglüüfid, punases silmas on kollane täheke ning ta hoiab nokas punaseid juhtmeid, mis jooksevad ka tema alla. Tumesinisel taustal on näha helesiniseid koodiridu.

Cyber menu 2025: Peking duck

Data leaks have given us a glimpse into China’s offensive cyber ecosystem, which is characterised by extensive cooperation between the private sector and the state.

Illustratsioon. Esiplaanil mustas ülikonnas karu lõhkumas serveriraamis olevaid servereid.

Russian bears in cyberspace

Russia uses cyberspace as a targeted and effective tool to support its foreign and security policy objectives.

Sinise pintsaku ja punasemustrilise lipsuga naeratav mees valge raamaturiiuli ees, taamal ka roheline potitaim.

The ministry’s perspective: developments and next steps

Tõnu Grünberg, Deputy Secretary General for digital infrastructure and cybersecurity at the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs, looks back on developments in national cybersecurity over the past year and sets out priorities for 2026.

Illustratsioon. Sinisel taustal on valgel taldrikul CERT-EE logoga sünnipäevatort. Tordil olevate säraküünalde sädemeteks on number 20.

20 years of protecting Estonia’s cyberspace

We look back on the eventful history of Estonia’s incident response team CERT-EE.

RIA operations centre begins work

On 1 June 2025, RIA launched its operations centre, tasked with observing and managing the operation of RIA services and monitoring developments in Estonia’s cyberspace.

Plakat. Ülikonnas mees seisab kontoriruumi uksel ja püüab põrandaharjaga peletada eemale virtuaalset punastest joontest ning numbritest 1 ja 0 koosnevat hundikujutist. Ukse kõrval tumedal taustal kiri: "Kaitse äri küberkiskjate eest" ja sinine nupp kirjaga "Juhi IT-vaatlikult!"

What did we do in prevention?

In 2025, our largest prevention campaign targeted businesses, helping them recognise cyber threats and protect themselves.

Illustratsioon: kollaste vestide ja kiivritega mehed ja naised veavad üksteise poole oranže juhtmeid, mille otsas on omavahel sobituvad pusletükid. Üks paar esiplaanil, tagaplaanil kaks paari. Taust tumesinine.

How to make public services more resilient

Estonian society relies on convenient public services, but behind them lies a web of dependencies. RIA identifies and strengthens the weakest links in this system to ensure that services continue to function even when a critical communications cable or power connection fails.

Illustratsioon. Monitori taga on kolm inimest, prillidega ülikonnas mees istub ja vaatab vasakul seljaga seisvat sinises dressipluusis meest. Paremal seisab pruunika pintsakuga tumedapäine naine, hallid paberid käes. esiplaanil pildi peal punaste punktiirjoontega Eesti kontuur, taamal sinisel taustal halli elektrimast ja liinid.

“In the worst case, we could be without electricity for days”

These ominous words were heard during the Cyber Reserve 2025 exercise, where participants, working with Elering, practised responding to a cyberattack that threatened Estonia’s entire electricity supply.

Illustratsioon. Suure roosa vihmavarju all seisvad kolm ülikonnas meest ja kaks kostüümis naist. Sinisel taustal paistab taamal värviliste majade rida.

Cybersecurity reflects organisational maturity

Cybersecurity is often framed in technical terms, but these form only part of the picture.

Illustratsioon valgel taustal. Sinises ülikonnas blond mees kastab sinise kastekannuga sinist taime. Selle juurde asemel on punane elektripirn.

New grant for cybersecurity companies

RIA and the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency (EIS) have created a new innovation grant for cybersecurity companies to support product and service development in the sector.

EU CyberNet expands its reach

The European Commission has extended EU CyberNet, the EU-funded cybersecurity capacity-building project led by RIA, for a further three years. This brings new partners and opens up opportunities to deliver EU assistance in South-East Asia and the Indian Ocean region.

Illustratsioon. Sinisel taustal valgete piirjoonte ja punaste detailidega ikoonid: seadusandlus, AI, tuldiagramm, neljast ühendatud käest ring, monitor tabalukuga.

What to expect in cyberspace in 2026

Artificial intelligence, legislation, cyber incidents, cyber defence, Nordic–Baltic regional cyber cooperation.

Cyber Security Yearbook

Data exchange platforms

People-centred data exchange

Data-based governance and reuse of data

Electronic identity (eID) and trust services

Raising public awareness about the information society

Personal services

Authority and management

News, media contact

Contacts