What country does elections best? With all the focus on securing the upcoming U.S. elections, let’s take a look at elections in Estonia with Joseph Carson, a global cybersecurity expert who lives there.
As we head into October 2020, everyone is talking about election security from various perspectives.
Back in June, this blog explained how election security has become a top issue. Since that time, the focus and political posturing by governments, the media, cybersecurity pros and both political parties has only increased, with a special scrutiny on voting by mail.
Read more: Could Estonia Be the Model for Secure Online Voting?
According to Johns Hopkins University, Estonia’s novel coronavirus numbers have generally stayed similar to those of its neighbors in the European Union. With an infection number so far at just above 2,000 it is slightly above the rates of nearby Latvia and Lithuania, but well below Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. By the end of July the death toll remained below 70, and with over 2,000 cases had recovered. However, in addition to its relatively low coronavirus numbers compared to those of other European nations, Estonia appears to have also experienced one of the lowest levels of panic amidst the pandemic. To fight the virus, Estonia has deployed familiar techniques: lockdowns, testing, emptying of intensive care wards, human contact-tracing, and government-mandated quarantine. However, Estonia’s coronavirus response is most distinguishable from its global counterparts because of its digital capabilities and “solutions” to the virus.
KrattAI is the vision of how public services should digitally work in the age of Artificial Intelligence.
In Estonia, there are around 30 Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions deployed in the Estonian public sector that were identified as active as of the beginning of June 2020. The Baltic nation aims to have at least 50 AI use cases by the end of 2020.
And that is just the beginning. Estonia's AI strategy is the next stage of digital public services, all part of e-Estonia. What is most interesting about it, is that its vision sounds as if it was taken from a science fiction script. Yet, it is all almost around the corner. In 2020, Estonia is working toward realizing its AI Strategy vision, called KrattAI.
Read more: KrattAI: Estonia's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy
Estonia has opened applications for its Digital Nomad Visa (DNV), which permits international citizens in Estonia to work for an international employer or as a freelancer.
A Digital Nomad Visa permits aliens who are engaged in jobs independent of location, to work remotely in Estonia. Technology, finance and marketing are the main areas of activity in this kind of visa, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Read more: Estonia Opens Applications for Digital Nomad Visa
The city of Tallinn and the Tehnopol Science and Business Park have announced a Tallinnovation innovation competition to find smart city solutions; the size of the innovation fund in 2020 is €50,000.
Tehnopol, the largest research and business park in Estonia, said in a statement that the organisers hope to support new smart city solutions that “will make the city of Tallinn more modern, more people-friendly, more cost-efficient and more open”.
Read more: EE: An innovation competition hopes to find smart city solutions in Tallinn