[Best of 2019] What the hell is a ‘cyber diplomat’?

Im an avid consumer of any TV series or podcast thats even remotely political.

I love the drama, intrigue, maneuvering, and most of all, thepower.

), Im kind of clueless.

Then Im even more oblivious when you throw out the term cyber diplomat.

Is it a Robocop-esque humanoid with a British judges wig?

No clue, all I know is it sounds cool.

Cyber diplomacy is computers and stuff

First up, cyber diplomacy…?

In its simplest form, cyber diplomacy isdiplomacy in the cyber domain(incredibly informative, I know).

Cyber diplomacy spans everything from security to trade, from freedom to governance.

Stuff is happening to us via computers and countries want a say in how it happens.

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You invade another country?

Nope, not allowed.

Dont bother to clean up an oil spill?

Think again, pal.

In cyberspace, its far from being this clear.

Whats our collective stance on botnets, malware, and exploiting software vulnerabilities?

Thats exactly what Tiirmaa-Klaar and her fellow cyber diplomats are trying to figure out.

Was this an attack on every country that felt its effects?

And if so, what do we do about it?

Unfortunately, this isnt done through machiavellian scheming like in the suspenseful political TV dramas I binge.

Instead, its more about slowly pushing for resolutions and improvements throughyearsof talking, meetings, and compromises.

Therefore Tiirmaa-Klaar advocates responsible state behavior to the rest of the world one meeting at a time.

One of the reasons is that Estonians know what its like to be under attack.

), very few of us have felt the terror of being a victim of a cyberattack.

Although its never been proved, the general consensus is that the Kremlin was behind the attack.

The motives and responses to attacks are all driven by people, and the domain is entirely man-made.

And the same goes for any head of an organization, says Tiirmaa-Klaar.

Someday soon, people will know better than to think a cyber diplomat is a Robocop with wig.

Mar tries to juggle his editorial duties with writing the occasional weird article.

He also loves talking about himself in the third person.