Session 2.6d: Update - Cyber Reserves as a Pillar of National Sovereignty: Lessons from Estonia’s Defence Model
Tracks
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| Wednesday, November 19, 2025 |
| 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM |
| Nicholls Theatre |
Details
In July 2025, the Australian Defence Force formally committed to developing a Cyber Reserve as part of its broader strategy to modernise Reserve capabilities. As Australia builds this capacity, valuable insights can be drawn from Estonia’s experience—having operated a fully functioning cyber defence reserve for over 15 years.
The presentation will explore how Estonia’s geopolitical vulnerability, combined with its investment in public–private collaboration and national cyber exercises, has shaped its cyber defence posture. It will examine three key elements:
1) Role of the Cyber Defence Unit (CDU) as a Defence-aligned volunteer force.
Established within the Estonian Defence League, the CDU integrates vetted civilian cyber experts into the national defence structure. These volunteers support infrastructure protection, incident response, and crisis preparedness. Large-scale exercises ensure alignment with broader defence and emergency strategies.
2) Establishment of a national civil cyber reserve in 2022
To enhance scalability, Estonia created a civil cyber reserve in 2022, drawing on professionals from CERT-EE, government agencies, and the CDU. Activated during major incidents, the reserve has been tested in national simulations, including ransomware attacks on healthcare systems.
3) Estonia’s use of national cyber exercises to ensure coordination and readiness
Cyber exercises are central to Estonia’s readiness model. They simulate real-world crises to test decision-making, technical capability, interagency coordination, and civilian-military integration. By involving both government and non-government actors, these exercises reinforce Estonia’s whole-of-nation approach to cyber defence and build operational confidence under pressure.
Speaker
Ms Kersti Eesmaa
Managing Director, Workpath Australia
Vertical Scope Group
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Biography
Kersti is the Managing Director of the WorkPath Australia Program at the Vertical Scope Group (VSG). She is dedicated to advancing the WorkPath Australia program, which aims to create more opportunities for veterans, women, neurodiverse individuals, and Indigenous Australians to enter careers in ICT and cyber security. She is also a Non-Executive Board Director of the Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre and a Visiting Fellow at the ANU Centre for European Studies.
Kersti brings 30 years of experience as a diplomat representing Estonia and completed her five-year term as Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia in Canberra in August 2024. During her tenure, her work focused extensively on digital innovation and cyber security. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Master’s degree with honours in Business Consultations. Her diplomatic career began as a trade diplomat representing Estonia’s interests in Geneva and Brussels. She later advanced to serve as the Director General of Human Resources and led the Estonian consular service for five years, also acting as the Ministry’s spokesperson on consular matters.
