Estonia suffers severe cyberattack after removal of Soviet monument

Riga, Aug 18 (EFE).- Estonia said on Wednesday it had repelled its most severe cyberattack in 15 years after removing a Soviet tank that stood as a monument in the border town of Narva.

“The attacks were ineffective. E-Estonia is up and running. Services were not disrupted. With some brief and minor exceptions, websites remained fully available throughout the day,” Luukas Ilves, Estonia’s Undersecretary for Digital Transformation wrote on Twitter.

The cyberattack targeted both public institutions and private sector websites and was orchestrated by the Killnet Russian hacker network, according to local media.

The Soviet T-34 tank, which stood on a plinth in the town of Narva bordering Russia, was removed and taken to a museum on Tuesday.

The monument was a site where many ethnic Estonians gathered as it glorified the Soviet occupation of their country.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Etonia said it would remove all Soviet era monuments and symbols across the country.

In 2007, the removal of a bronze statue of a Soviet soldier from central Tallinn sparked riots in the streets and a series of 22 cyberattacks on the Baltic country’s internet resources. EFE

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