Estonia Blames Moscow for Cyber Attacks

The nation of Estonia says it has reason to suspect that Russia has played a part in cyber attacks that have brought both government and business websites across the country to a near-standstill.

While not concrete yet, Estonia's Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo told the Associated Press that there is enough evidence to at least suspect Russia's involvement in the attacks. All six major banks were targeted, as well as government offices and corporations.

The attacks began shortly after the country decided to move a war memorial placed by the former Soviet Union -- which Estonia was formerly a part of -- from the downtown district of its capital city, Tallinn.

Estonians wanted the memorial out of its capital due to its links to 50 years of Soviet occupation. However, Moscow argued that removing it would desecrate the sacrifices of Russian soliders.

About 1 million computers have been used in the attacks. In some of them, IP addresses were traced back to Russian governmental offices. NATO has stepped in to assist the Estonian government over fears that its own systems could be targeted

Russian officials are denying any wrongdoing and have suggested that attackers were spoofing Russian IPs in an attempt to direct blame towards the Russians. However, Estonia claims instructions on Russian websites told participants where and when to attack.