Uncle Sam needs a cyber militia?

I thought this story was kind of cool. I'm glad tiny Estonia, a David to its belligerent Russian Goliath, has found a way to defend itself against hackers and cyber attackers.

The U.S. so far is fighting cyber warfare the Big Gubument way (albeit often through private contractors), whereas small Estonia is fighting cyber war the militia (you might even say, guerrilla) way, with volunteers (although they are considering instituting a conscript service). The U.S. could do it both ways, why not? As one commenter on this story asked online, why hasn't the U.S. Government simply asked them for help, instead of assuming that all private IT experts are "distrustful" and "standoffish?"

I don't think it's just that; I think it's partly the USG's over reliance on secret clearances, and the cumbersome process of granting them. As the NYT's Nicholas Kristof recently noted, there are more U.S. citizens with "top secret" clearance than there are residents of Washington, DC.


Volunteer Cyber Army Emerges In Estonia
By Tom Gjelten
January 4, 2010 | Morning Edition on NPR

URL: http://www.npr.org/2011/01/04/132634099/in-estonia-volunteer-cyber-army-defends-nation