Estonia Blames Russia for Cyber Attacks

TALLINN, Estonia — Estonian websites have been under heavy attack for the last three weeks, and authorities are blaming Russia for playing a part in the cyber warfare.

The Estonian government has said that its state and commercial websites, including a number of banks, are being bombarded by mass requests for information which are overwhelming their computer servers. Other targets of the "denial-of-service attacks" have included the Estonian foreign and defense ministries and leading newspapers and banks.

Officials have cut access to some servers from outside Estonia to prevent them from being attacked.

Estonian authorities said the attacks began after a Soviet war memorial in Tallinn was removed, an action that was condemned by the Kremlin.

Many of the attacks have come from Russia and are being hosted by Russian state computer servers, according to Tallinn officials. Moscow has denied any involvement.

A NATO spokesman said the organization was giving Estonia technical help.

"In the 21st century it's not just about tanks and artillery," NATO spokesman James Appathurai told BBC News. "We have sent one of our experts at the request of the Estonian authorities to help them in their defense."

Mikhail Tammet, head of IT security at Estonia's defense ministry, told the BBC that the attacks had affected a range of government websites, including those of the parliament and governmental institutions. He said Estonia was particularly vulnerable as much of its government is run online.

"Estonia depends largely on the Internet. We have e-government; government is so-called paperless ... all the bank services are on the Internet. We even elect our parliament via the Internet," Mr Tammet said.

"In the past few weeks it has been quite difficult for some government officials to read their emails on the web and to get access to the banks."

The Estonian defense ministry said that the cyber attacks have come from all over the world, but some have been hosted by Russian state servers, and that instructions on how to carry out cyber warfare are circulating on Russian websites.

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip has directly accused Russia of being responsible, pointing the blame at the Russian government. Internet experts from NATO and the European Union are helping to track down the culprits, but Estonian officials said that they have had no cooperation from Russia.

Russia — which has a large community of hackers and computer virus-writers — has been accused of mounting such attacks before in the U.S. and Ukraine. Moscow denies any involvement in the Internet attacks on Estonia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the BBC that the allegations were "completely untrue."

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Strike 3 Rejects Meta 'Personal Use' Defense in AI Suit

Vixen Media Group owner Strike 3 Holdings this week responded to Facebook parent company Meta’s motion to dismiss Strike 3’s suit accusing Meta of pirating VMG content to train its artificial intelligence models.

Pornhub, Stripchat: VLOP Designation Based on Flawed Data

In separate cases, attorneys for Pornhub and Stripchat this week told the EU’s General Court that the European Commission relied on unreliable data when it classified the sites as “very large online platforms” (VLOPs) under the EU’s Digital Services Act, news organization MLex reports.

New Age Verification Service 'AgeWallet' Launches

Tech company Brady Mills Agency has officially launched its subscription-based age verification solution, AgeWallet.

AEBN Publishes Popular Searches for September, October

AEBN has published the top search terms for the months of September and October from its straight and gay theaters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Creator, Influencer YesKingzTV Passes Away at 47

Adult content creator and social media personality YesKingzTV, aka Micheal Willis Heard, has passed away at the age of 47.

Pre-Nominations Now Open for 2026 TEAs

The pre-nomination period for the 2026 Trans Erotica Awards (TEAs) is now open.

FSC Releases Updated Age Verification Toolkit

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has announced the release of its updated age verification toolkit.

Duke Tax Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Duke Tax has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

UK Moving Ahead with Plan to Outlaw 'Choking' Content

The U.K. government has announced its intent to follow through on criminalizing “choking” content, a plan that was announced earlier this year.

Italy to Require Age Verification for Adult Sites

Italian media regulator AGCOM has announced that all sites and platforms hosting adult content will be required to implement age verification systems to prevent access by users under 18.

Show More