00:00In April 2007, Estonia, a tech-savvy Baltic nation, became ground zero for the world's
00:13first known cyber war, the Trigger.
00:16The government's decision to relocate a Soviet-era statue, the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn.
00:23To Estonians, it symbolized Soviet occupation.
00:27To many ethnic Russians, it honored their heritage.
00:32Protests erupted.
00:33But the real chaos came from the shadows.
00:36Suddenly, government websites, banks, news outlets and emergency services were crippled
00:43by massive DDoS attacks.
00:45Millions of requests per second flooded their systems.
00:49ATMs went offline.
00:52Parliament's networks crashed.
00:54Estonia, reliant on digital infrastructure, was paralyzed.
00:59Amid the digital wreckage, investigators traced the origin to a 19-year-old student, Dmitry
01:05Galushkevich, an ethnic Russian in Tallinn.
01:10With access to hacker forums and basic tools, he admitted launching part of the attack in
01:15protest.
01:16Whether he acted alone or as a pawn for larger forces remains unclear.
01:22Though Dmitry received only a minor fine, the message was loud.
01:27Modern wars wouldn't start with missiles.
01:29They'd begin online.
01:32Estonia responded by becoming a global leader in cybersecurity.
01:37Even hosting NATO's Cyber Defense Center.
01:40But the 2007 attacks remain a stark warning.
01:45In the digital age, even a lone hacker can shake a nation.
01:48In the digital age, it's the only one who has been able to do it for a long time.
02:00In the digital age, it's the only one who has been able to do it for a long time.
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