Estonia may use reserve funds for election cyber defense — ERR News

Estonia plans to increase investment in cybersecurity, including the protection of electronic voting, ahead of elections due to take place in March. This was reported by ERR News.

Risks to electronic voting

Jonas Heiter, director of Estonia’s Information System Authority (RIA), said that cybercriminals are increasingly using artificial intelligence to search for vulnerabilities on a large scale. According to him, Estonia has no information about cyberattacks carried out entirely with the help of AI, although such cases are known in other countries.

Heiter also noted that the number of incidents causing damage doubles every year. Technological development creates new risks for the digital state and the online voting system.

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Funding and a backup scenario

An additional €5 million is needed next year to strengthen cybersecurity, and more than €20 million over four years. Prime Minister Kristen Michal said that the necessary funding is available and that funds can be reallocated within this area if needed.

Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa-Ly Pakosta said that her ministry had not received additional funding while also carrying out further cuts. She stressed that money for conducting electronic voting will be found even without a separate allocation: if necessary, it may be taken from the government’s reserve fund.

Arne Koitmäe, head of the State Electoral Service, said that if confidence in the system is lost, there is a backup plan — a complete transition to voting with paper ballots.