Estonia climbs the global startup rankings, NIS2 compliance deadlines loom, and phishing overtakes technical failures as the top cyber threat.
Welcome to the May edition of Kood Letter!
News
Estonia Ranks 12th in Global Startup Ecosystem Index - First in the Baltics
According to the 2026 StartupBlink Global Startup Ecosystem Index, Estonia placed 12th in the world. Estonia’s own ecosystem expanded by 8.8%, reaching a total score of 33.437, putting it only around 1.5% behind France in 11th place. Estonia remains the undisputed leader in Eastern Europe and the Baltics, ranking 5th in the EU and 5th globally for both startup ecosystem maturity and international visibility. Fintech is Estonia’s strongest sector globally (10th in the world). Among cities, Tallinn dropped to 53rd globally but remains the highest-ranked startup city among EU member states in Eastern Europe.
RIA Launches Procurement for Estonia’s EUDI Wallet Service Provider
The Information System Authority (RIA) has kicked off a public procurement to find a partner to develop and operate Estonia’s EU Digital Identity Wallet (Digikukkur). The selected provider will build and run the service for five years, delivering a solution that lets people store and present digital identity data, electronic attestations, and digital signatures - fully compatible with both Estonia’s eID ecosystem and EU-wide requirements. By the end of 2026, all EU public sector bodies must be ready to accept EUDI Wallets from any member state. Private-sector service providers with large user bases will face the same obligation from the end of 2027. Applications close on 29 June 2026.
Tallinn and Tehnopol Award €150,000 to Six IT Companies for Smart City Development
The City of Tallinn and Tehnopol have distributed €150,000 to six Estonian IT companies through the Tallinnovation innovation competition, funding the development and testing of smart city solutions in Tallinn’s urban environment. Winning solutions cover AI-driven building energy efficiency and indoor climate optimisation, data-driven infrastructure management, and tools for a more inclusive urban environment.
Latitude59 Pitch Competition Awards €450,000 to DogBase, Granarium Technologies, and Backoffice
The Latitude59 2026 pitch competition concluded with €450,000 in investment distributed across three winners. EstBAN, LatBAN, and FiBAN jointly invested up to €200,000 in Finnish deep-tech startup Granarium Technologies (100% renewable supercapacitors made from nanocellulose and activated carbon) and up to €100,000 in Estonian startup DogBase, which is building a training platform for working and rescue dogs. Lithuanian VC fund FIRSTPICK invested €150,000 in Backoffice, a workforce management platform for restaurants. The competition drew a record 465 applications from 53 countries, with the top seven teams pitching on the Latitude59 main stage on May 22.
NIS2 Is Now Law in Estonia - Thousands of Companies Still Need to Act
Amendments to Estonia’s Cybersecurity Act transposing the EU’s NIS2 Directive entered into force on 1 January 2026, expanding the number of organisations subject to cybersecurity obligations from around 3,500 to nearly 6,500. Despite the law being in effect for several months, many companies are still unaware that they are already required to take action. Affected entities must self-register via CERT-EE, and different compliance milestones apply: governance controls are due by January 2027, with full technical compliance and first audits expected by January 2028. The new framework introduces personal liability for board members and potential fines of up to €10 million or 2% of annual turnover for breaches. Companies can check their obligations and registration requirements at ria.ee.
Cyber
April in Cyberspace: 1,138 Incidents and a Surge in Phishing
RIA recorded 1,138 cybersecurity incidents in April - the highest monthly total in the past six months. Several recurring disruptions hit the Health Insurance Fund’s digital services throughout the month, caused by both software errors and failures at an external service provider. The Business Register website went down twice in early April (once due to a slow database, once due to an expired certificate). Digital signature services were also disrupted on 17 and 26 April due to configuration and certificate renewal errors. On the fraud side, phishing emails impersonating LHV Bank were again widely distributed, and CERT-EE detected targeted attacks against cryptocurrency wallet users - specifically MetaMask and Ledger users directed to fake websites to harvest credentials. In addition, an Estonian company lost €1.6 million to invoice fraud during the month.
RIA’s chief analyst Dorel Kiik noted that April’s incidents illustrate a broader trend: cyber threats are increasingly shifting from technical outages toward social engineering and human manipulation. Unlike service disruptions, the impact of fraud on individuals can be severe and long-lasting.
RIA: Cyber Threats Are Shifting from Technical Failures to Human Manipulation
In its May threat assessment, RIA highlighted an accelerating shift in the tactics of cybercriminals away from technical exploits and toward manipulating people directly. Phishing campaigns are increasingly preceded by phone and video calls designed to build trust before the actual attack - a pattern seen in campaigns targeting both private individuals and government officials. Russian state-backed actors are also investing more heavily in social engineering, with Ukraine’s government officials and armed forces identified as primary targets. The FBI, NSA, and 15 international partners (including Estonia) issued a joint warning in April about a GRU-linked operation in which thousands of routers worldwide have been compromised since 2024. RIA urges organisations to run regular phishing awareness training and recommends their free cyber test for institutions at ria.ee/en/cyber-security/cyberspace-analysis-and-prevention/kubertest.
Upcoming Events
AWS Baltic Connect
Date: June 4, 2026
Location: PROTO Avastustehas, Peetri tn 10, Tallinn
A community-led cloud event for Baltic business leaders and IT professionals, featuring practical talks on cloud adoption, multicloud strategy, and tooling from speakers at Aiven, Splunk, and GitLab. No theory - real-world case studies only. Registration requires host approval.
Registration: Register here
The Baltics and Beyond: Moving from Startup to Global Scaleup
Date: June 4, 2026
Location: LIFT99, Tallinn
A Wise Business Events and LIFT99 panel evening for founders, investors, and startup leaders on scaling from the Baltics globally - covering international growth, deep tech investment trends, and accessing US capital. Includes breakout workshops and a networking drinks reception. Registration requires host approval.
Registration: Register here
EestiStartup Summer Meetup 2026
Date: June 6, 2026
Location: Pudel Baar, Telliskivi tn 62, Tallinn
A casual summer networking meetup for the Estonian startup community.
Registration: Register here
Küberinnovatsioon 2026
Date: June 10, 2026
Location: Delta Building, University of Tartu
The University of Tartu Institute of Computer Science is hosting its annual Estonian-language cybersecurity conference, this year themed around regulation - whether it supports innovation, holds it back, or helps manage cyber risk. The day features talks and workshops, with speakers including Dan Bogdanov (Cybernetica), Veikko Raasuke (CERT-EE), and Andres Jõgi (Bolt). The evening programme is organised by RIA. Attendees can also explore the Delta building, student projects, and the UT Computer Museum.
Registration: Register here
RIA CyberMeetUp
Date: June 18, 2026
Location: Palo Alto Club, Telliskivi 57, Tallinn
Estonia’s monthly cyber community meetup, held in English, with expert talks on the latest threat landscape followed by open networking. Talks are also live-streamed on RIA’s social channels.
More information: ria.ee/en/cyber-security/community
HIPTHER Baltics: Tallinn Summit
Date: June 2, 2026
Location: Tallinn
A one-day summit connecting policy leaders, tech entrepreneurs, investors, and regulators to discuss digital-first governance, data infrastructure, and trust frameworks - set against Estonia’s e-government track record.
More information: hipther.com/events/tallinn
RIA Cyber Accelerator
Date: Applications close 21 June 2026
Location: Tehnopol Startup Incubator, Tallinn
The fourth edition of RIA’s Cyber Accelerator is accepting applications from cybersecurity startups. Selected teams receive up to €60,000 in funding, along with mentoring and seed round preparation support. This year’s edition places special emphasis on solutions that combat cyber fraud and phishing. Research-based solutions and university spinoffs are particularly welcome.
Apply at: startupincubator.ee/en/cyberaccelerator
Garage48 Future of Wood 2026
Date: October 16–18, 2026
Location: EWERS Tehnomaja / TSENTER, Väimela, Võrumaa
A three-day makeathon for students, designers, engineers, and wood industry professionals to prototype sustainable solutions for forestry, wood processing, and the circular economy. Food is included; bring your own sleeping bag for accommodation.
More information: Garage48 Future of Wood 2026
Job Offers
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See you next month!