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The United States and Estonia: Partners in Cyber Security and Internet Freedom(Targeted News Service Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- The U.S. Department of State issued the following fact sheet: Secretary of State John Kerry and Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet met in Brussels on December 3 to sign the U.S.-Estonia Cyber Partnership Statement on the margins of the NATO Ministerial meeting. Estonia is a key Ally of the United States and a recognized leader on issues of cyber security and Internet freedom. This Statement affirms the commitment of the United States and Estonia to continue working together to enhance an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable information and communications infrastructure and to prioritize openness and innovation on the Internet. The leaders pledged to deepen U.S.-Estonian cyber engagement in the following key areas: Cyber Security * Estonia is a recognized leader in cyber security. Our bilateral cyber relationship includes collaborative efforts on network protection, development cooperation, combating cyber-crime, strategic global policy alignment, internet freedom, and improving cyber education. Estonian and American Computer Emergency Readiness Teams (CERTs) are in regular contact in order to cooperate and effectively respond to cyber incidents. * Estonia hosts the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence, which serves as a repository of expertise on cyber security issues. The Center's mission is to enhance the capability, cooperation and information sharing among NATO Allies and partners in cyber defense by virtue of education, research and development, lessons learned and consultation. E-governance * Estonia's role as a leader and innovator in e-governance dates to 2001, after which many government and business services were offered online and an electronic national ID card system was developed and used for electronic voting. By 2005, Estonians were able to vote in local and national elections using the Internet. Internet Freedom and Internet Governance * Estonia is a close partner in the Freedom Online Coalition, a group of governments collaborating with other stakeholders to advance Internet freedom. As current chair of the Coalition, Estonia will host the next Coalition Conference in Tallinn in spring 2014. The United States and Estonia are also donors to the Digital Defenders Partnership, which provides emergency support for Internet users in repressive environments who are under threat for peacefully exercising their universal rights online. * Estonia and the United States are strong partners on international cyber policy matters, including Internet governance and Internet freedom. Our governments work together in a wide variety of international fora, including the UN Group of Government Experts (GGE), which discusses the development of norms of state-to-state behavior in cyberspace, and the Organization for Security Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). TNS 30TacordaCheng-131204-4566441 30TacordaCheng (c) 2013 Targeted News Service |