• The New York Times, Tuesday, May 29, 2007 11 AM

Cyberattacks are possibly even scarier than terrorist attacks, because so many people can be affected by the efforts of so few. Last month, Estonia, one of the European Union's most promising emerging economies, got its first big taste of this, as protesters organized a massive attack, flooding government, newspapers and banking Web sites with data, effectively shutting many down. The cyberattack came in retaliation for the Estonian government's decision to relocate a Russian World War II-era statue. Estonia is a former member of the Soviet Union.

The Times noted that "for people here, the Internet is almost as vital as running water; it is used routinely to vote, file their taxes, and, with their cellphones, to shop or pay for parking." Which is why government agencies feared the violent protests could spill over to the Internet. As a result of the DOS attacks, Hansabank, the country's biggest bank, was forced to shut down its online banking network.

Authorities believe Estonians of Russian descent orchestrated the attacks with help from the Russian government. They found a Web address involved in the attacks belonging to an official in Russian President Vladimir Putin's administration. Understandably, the attacks have federal officials worried: "This may well turn out to be a watershed in terms of widespread awareness of the vulnerability of modern society," warned Linton Wells II, a Pentagon IT official.

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