A variety of Linux distributions (Week 13)

Gentoo is a Linux distribution aimed at advanced users. The biggest advantage of Gentoo is that instead of downloading pre-built binaries from your package manager, the packages are built specifically for your computer's specs. Because of this you can squeeze more performance out of your computer than with other distributions. You could say that no two Gentoo installations are equal, because this distribution is really about customizing and tweaking things to your preference. It takes time to learn and get everything set up to your preferences, but for some that time spent is worth it. If you are not willing to put in the time to do that then you should consider something with a better out of the box experience.

For a wider audience there is Fedora Linux. It comes in different editions meant for different uses, for example for cloud computing, IoT, servers or just for personal use as a desktop OS. Fedora tries to appeal to a mass audience, with Linus Torvalds admitting that he runs Fedora on his personal machine. It is however backed by Red Hat, a multi-billion dollar company who also sponsors other big GNU projects such as LibreOffice, GNOME and systemd which might be off putting Linux purists. Also, Fedora contains non-free/proprietary firmware files which is definitely against Richard Stallman's idea of GNU.

IT security in Estonia (Week 10)

When analyzing IT security we use the "Mitnick formula" by Kevin Mitnick. It consists of three different aspects, which we will discuss here.

First is technology, that being all of the systems put up for defense, for example firewalls, antivirus software but also digital infrastructure such as the ID systems (Smart-ID and Mobile-ID). Estonia is in a good spot because a big portion of the population has adopted these systems. As of the beginning of the year 600 000 people have registered to use the Smart-ID system. 

https://blog.swedbank.ee/igapaevased-rahaasjad/smart-id-swedbanki-kontorist

Estonia has lots of opportunities to for participating in cyber security related events. Many hackathons have been organized, for example the Cyber Battle of Estonia in which young people competed in a CTF (capture-the-flag) scenario. I personally attended and ended up reaching the finals. For me it was a big learning opportunity and even if you didn't attend it still brought a spotlight on the topic of cyber security. The government also regularly informs the citizens about what attacks to look out for and how to protect yourself. Phishing is a big problem right now for Estonia, with the elderly being the most likely to fall victim to this particular attack. Businesses are also big targets in this attack for obvious reasons. And the government knows this and is doing what it can with special teams being put in place to defend the country's cyberspace, which brings us to the last aspect of the "Mitnick formula".

https://www.ctftech.com

The Estonian Defence Forces Cyber Command is a branch of the Estonian Defence Forces. Their mission is to maintain control over the Estonian cyberspace, providing cyber security and acting on any threats. They are a part of the policy (and training) of Estonia's cyber defence. They have setup headquarters and a chain of command for dealing with any threats. As well as them there is the Estonian Defence League’s Cyber Unit which consists of volunteers, security professionals and lawyers. They work with the Cyber Command to build preparedness for crisis situations.

https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/2434474/estonia-us-conduct-joint-defensive-cyber-operation/

Sources:

https://www.ria.ee/en/news/cyber-security-estonia-2020.html

https://majandus.postimees.ee/7419012/eestis-on-valjastatud-ule-600-000-smart-id

https://vm.ee/en/cyber-security

https://blog.swedbank.ee/igapaevased-rahaasjad/smart-id-swedbanki-kontorist 

https://www.ctftech.com

https://mil.ee/en/landforces/cyber-command/

https://www.kaitseliit.ee/en/cyber-unit

https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/2434474/estonia-us-conduct-joint-defensive-cyber-operation/