Cybersecurity education in Estonia: building competences for internal security personnel

Abstract

Currently there is no formal cybersecurity education for internal security first-responders in Estonia. The Estonian Academy of Security Sciences (EASS) does not provide this education at basic (all students) and advanced (cybercrime investigators) levels. The Estonian government has highlighted the need to improve the cybersecurity competence of mid-level and senior civil servants in the administrative area of the Ministry of the Interior. In this context, this article gives an overview of cybersecurity formal education and extra-curricular initiatives in Estonia, including those supported by the Ministry of Defence. It further gives a snapshot of the state-of-the-art cybersecurity education in the police academies of Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway, as well as of other international competence building frameworks. The author recommends several policy solutions in order to improve digital skills, cybersecurity and cybercrime competences of future internal security personnel. The following aspects should be considered in competence building: the existing frameworks, best practices from foreign police universities and academies, and developing closer cooperation with the Estonian Defence Academy, TalTech, and the Ministry of Defence