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RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHRN RUEHROV
DE RUEHTL #0212/01 1691329
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171329Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY TALLINN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0674
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHSS/OECD POSTS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TALLINN 000212 
 
FOR EEB/CIP/BA - WHIT WITTEMAN 
EUR/NB FOR KATHERINE GARRY 
HELSINKI FOR GLENN LEWIS 
USEU FOR DAVID LIPPEATT 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ECON BEXP PGOV OIIP TINT EN
SUBJECT: ICT AMBASSADOR GROSS' VISIT TO ESTONIA 
 
Ref: (A) Tallinn 179 
 (B) Tallinn 196 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: On May 26-27, Ambassador David A. Gross, 
U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and 
Information Policy, highlighted U.S. engagement on cyber 
security and ICT issues with senior GOE officials as well 
as U.S. and Estonian business leaders.  Estonia?s Ministry 
of Defense (MOD) expressed concern that the cyber attacks 
of April 2007 may presage a "re-militarization of the 
internet", while Minister of Economy Juhan Parts announced 
the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) plans to open a 
branch office in Estonia to support non-profit research and 
development in hi-tech industries.  The head of Skype, 
Estonia's marquee company, previewed future voice-over 
internet protocol (VOIP) products and discussed security 
issues related to the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) software. 
Ambassador Gross also addressed the American Chamber of 
Commerce, and Estonia's second largest daily paper.  End 
Summary. 
 
Cyber Security 
-------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) At Estonia's Cooperative Cyber Defense Center 
(CCD) (ref B) Ambassador Gross and Embassy Tallinn's Charge 
saw the center's classrooms, computer labs and other 
facilities.  CCD Director and Executive Officer, Raul Riik, 
explained that while Estonia's Cyber Emergency Response 
Team (CERT) is responsible for daily defense of Estonia's 
critical cyber infrastructure, the CCD handles strategic, 
long-term contingency planning.  The CCD's Legal Advisor, 
Eneken Tiik, added that they are working to identify the 
proper legal framework in which the Center can operate 
within the context of existing regimes of the UN, the WTO, 
the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and other 
national and international laws. 
 
¶3. (SBU) CCD Scientist Rain Ottis later noted (referring to 
the Internet's military origins in the 1960s) that the 
Ministry of Defense (MOD) fears that "The Internet is being 
re-militarized in preparation for a larger war between 
hackers in the future."  Events such as the massive 
distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDOS) on Estonia in 
April/May 2007 were a preview of what such attacks could 
do.  Now more than a year after the 2007 Cyber Attacks, MOD 
Permanent Undersecretary Lauri Almann said that they are 
still learning new things about the planning and execution 
of those attacks.  For example, the early waves of rolling 
attacks began around 3:00 am in Estonia at a level of 
intensity not strong enough to cripple infrastructure, but 
intense enough to get responders up in the middle of the 
night.  Estimates of the number of countries where hijacked 
computers employed in the 'bot-net' attacks were located 
still range anywhere from 100-135, with the United States 
hosting the most computers.  MOD is attempting to create a 
psychological profile of the types of cyber criminals who 
would organize such attacks.  This type of cyber forensics 
and scenario modeling, in addition to classes and seminars, 
would be a key part of the work of the MOD's Cyber Defense 
Center. 
 
Skype and the Future of VOIP 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Ambassador Gross met with several start-up 
companies at 'Tehnopol', the country's leading business 
incubator on the campus of the Tallinn University of 
Technology to take the pulse of entrepreneurial spirit of 
Estonia.  Tehnopol has 140 resident companies in ICT, 
biotech, chemical and materials production, services and 
other fields.  While some noted that access to venture 
capital is a problem, larger concerns cited were the supply 
of qualified labor, and business experience for their 
employees and managers. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The highlight of the visit to Tehnopol was a 
meeting at the headquarters of Estonia's marquee company, 
Skype.  The country's signature IT brand, and a world 
leader in VOIP technology, Skype was incubated at Tehnopol, 
and its development offices and staff of approximately 300 
are still located there.  (Note: EBay purchased Skype for 
$2.6 billion in September 2005.  End Note)  With 309 
million users worldwide, General Manager Sten Tamkivi told 
us that Skype's growth plan now is to improve functionality 
 
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for users running Apple and Linux platforms, and to offer 
new services such as SkypeFind (a yellow pages-type search 
engine) and SkypePrime (a fee-based application for 
delivering professional services such as tax or legal 
advice over VOIP).  Currently, Tamkivi said, 95 percent of 
Skype's revenues come from calls to land lines 
("SkypeOut.")  He also noted that they introduced video 
within the Skype application just two years ago, and today 
over 30 percent of their global traffic is carrying near- 
DVD quality video with voice calls. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Tamkivi said that Skype views itself "...not as a 
telecom company, but as a software company that interfaces 
with telecoms in nearly 200 countries."  Ambassador Gross 
stressed that the United States is working to encourage 
governments to not to impede VOIP technology.  At the same 
time, he cautioned Tamkivi to ensure that Skype addresses 
security concerns their peer-to-peer (P2P) software could 
potentially create vulnerabilities for viruses and other 
malware to get past computer firewalls. 
 
¶7. (U) On a separate note, Tamkivi acknowledged Skype's 
special role in the Estonian economy, as one of the largest 
and most diverse employers in the country.  With nearly 300 
employees representing 25 nationalities under one roof, he 
hopes that if and when his veteran developers and designers 
move on to other jobs in the country, their capital, 
experience, contacts and confidence will be part of the 
"next wave" of Estonian innovation and entrepreneurship. 
 
"Silicon Valley East" Coming to Estonia? 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) At a meeting with Minister of Economic Affairs and 
Communications Juhan Parts (and former Prime Minister) 
Ambassador Gross discussed common ICT priorities.  Minister 
Parts led Estonia's delegation to the June 17-18 OECD 
Ministerial in Seoul, Korea on "The Future of the Internet 
Economy".  He concurred with the U.S. position that the 
ITU's role in regulating global telecom networks should not 
be broadened as some members would like to include law 
enforcement functions or control over internet domains. 
Minister Parts told us of a development that he has not 
made public yet - the agreement during his April visit to 
the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in Silicon Valley 
that SRI agreed to set up a branch office in Estonia.  SRI 
International is "...an independent, nonprofit research 
institute conducting client-sponsored research and 
development for government agencies, commercial businesses, 
foundations, and other organizations".  The office would 
only be SRI's fifth outside the United States, and the 
first in Europe.  (Note: The other four branch offices are 
in Taipei, Tokyo, Seoul and Dubai.  End Note.)  SRI will 
prepare a White Paper outlining their vision for "Silicon 
Valley East" (as Minister Parts put it,) and the Ministry 
will follow with its own paper. 
 
Business Outreach 
----------------- 
 
¶9. (U) In an interview with Estonia's second-largest daily 
paper, Eesti Paevaleht, Ambassador Gross stressed U.S. 
support for the Estonian CCD, and emphasized the importance 
of international cooperation on ICT issues.  He also 
outlined USG efforts to protect individuals from cyber 
crime and malware.  Addressing a luncheon hosted by the 
American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Estonia on the 
global impact of Information and Communications Technology 
(ICT) on business, Ambassador Gross noted the 
transformative effect of the explosive growth in mobile 
phone usage and technology in recent years.  As with 
companies at Tehnopol, participants were equally interested 
in learning how to branch out to connect with expertise and 
markets beyond the region, as with how to attract outside 
investment capital. 
 
¶10. (U) This cable was cleared by Ambassador Gross. 
 
PHILLIPS