U. S. Ambassador to Estonia Michael C. Polt will deliver a speech entitled Risk Management in the Internet Century-Cyber Security: Protecting Our Virtual Lives at 4:00 PM this afternoon at the Estonian IT College. The event is open to the public and press. The Ambassador's remarks will address the paradigmatic change that the internet is playing in our personal lives and in the lives of our nations.
One need look no further than the 2008 Presidential elections in the United States or the uprising following the 2009 Presidential elections in Iran to see the tremendous impact the internet and social media can have on societies. The inherent power of the internet to positively impact our lives is matched by its potential negative uses.
The world learned much from the Estonian experience in 2007 when we witnessed the impact of coordinated cyber attacks against a country's information infrastructure, and we are deeply concerned over the damage caused by a widespread denial-of-service assault. On an even more personal level, everyone of us bears the pass-through costs of cyber crime as public and private institutions seek to protect themselves from cyber attacks and to mitigate their impact. Ambassador Polt will discuss the need for a holistic approach to cyber defense and internet freedom that will enable us to "Protect our Virtual Lives."
(http://estonia.usembassy.gov/s... )