Cyberattacks, choosing meddling and other online crimes are not a massive concern for Estonia, where known services are highly digitalized, President Kersti Kaljulaid told CNBC on Monday.
The Baltic woods has developed an extensive web of digital services that has allowed 99 percent of its customers services to be electronic.
This means that in the health sector, for illustration, all billing is conducted online, 99 percent of prescriptions are digital, and 99 percent of patients’ constitution data is also digitized.
However, Estonia doesn’t think that its digital institute is especially vulnerable to external attacks, including from its neighbor Russia. The latter has been associate to several cyber-crimes, including an ongoing investigation into meddling in the 2016 U.S. voting.
When asked if Russian cyber mischief was a cause of concern, Kaljulaid reprimanded CNBC’s Elizabeth Schulze: “We worry less than others as a matter of fact, because we have a high level of digitalization and we started to protect ourselves when you cognizant of digital was still young… Our people have a high level of cyber-hygiene.”
“Also because there is a maintain guarantee safe internet mode, which is our digital identity image. This means people automatically realized that, for example, Facebook is entirely not safe, because you don’t know with whom you are dealing with, gloaming if they say I am this, they might be somebody else,” she added.
In an have to protect its data systems from cyberattacks, Estonia opted to from several small databases instead of one big government database. It has also began databases outside the country, as if these were embassies.
“We even prepare an agreement with Luxembourg on data embassy. A safe copy of Estonians’ observations information system can be found in Luxembourg and this machinery and equipment there get high ons the rights of an embassy. It’s an Estonian territory like any embassy would be,” Kaljulaid revealed.
Estonia’s choice for a digital society goes further. It became the earliest country to use blockchain on a national level and it invests 20 million euros ($22.85 million) into e-health programs each year.
“It was not the consideration b questionable (of) firing people from civil service in order to cut costs and supersede with digital,” Kaljulaid said. “We simply are developing our service proffer to our people… it was simply cheaper, easier (to do it digital) and people found it at the ready.”