Estonia’s president explains how her country has gone digital

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and Estonia declared its independence, the small Baltic country had to build itself — government and all — from square one. Leaders made the decision to start with an all-electronic foundation.

Known as “E-Estonia,” each citizen receives a government-issued digital ID at birth that can be used for, among other things, accessing health insurance, voting, enrolling in school and paying taxes. These services, and more, are connected on one digital platform.

“We have gone through a societal disruption to make sure that our citizens and businesses have a totally digital environment,” explained Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid in an address to USC students, faculty, staff and friends on Oct. 3 at the University Park Campus. The special lecture, “Cyber Challenges and Digital Solutions: National and Economic Security in the ‘Silicon Valley of Europe,’” was organized by the USC Dornsife School of International Relations.

President Kaljulaid explained that while Estonia, a country of 1.3 million people, is not a technology-developing country, it has paved the way in bringing businesses and the government together to help people young and old.

The government has been able to track the benefits of the switch to digital, which President Kaljulaid reports are a 2 percent savings in the gross domestic product by using digital signatures and 6 percent of the GDP generated from information and communications technology. (Though mostly an export economy, Estonia is where Skype was created about 15 years ago.) The system also spares citizens approximately four to five working days’ worth of visits to public offices.

“We all have a century to live, why waste so many days?” she asked.

As President Kaljulaid continues to promote digital paths for the country’s welfare, she is also pushing to build defenses against cyber threats to national security. That begins with the individual and what she terms “cyber hygiene” — having an understanding of how the digital world works and taking charge of one’s own online safety. The government’s role is to offer a safe means of identification, she said.

Estonia’s own digital system makes use of blockchain technology — also used by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin — that both decentralizes where data is stored and traces any efforts to access it. While very secure, President Kaljulaid said, further protections are needed, specifically when it comes to cyber security and the law.

“Our analog law should apply in cyber space, and it doesn’t,” she said. To that end, Estonia is running for a seat as a nonpermanent member on the U.N. Security Council, whose primary responsibility is maintaining international peace and security.

“We want to contribute in bringing all things cyber and digital to the table,” she said.