The Norwegian police are investigating a cyberattack uncovered earlier this month that affected the IT techniques utilized by a dozen authorities ministries.
Norway’s Workplace of the Prime Minister, in addition to its international, protection, and justice ministries, weren’t affected by the hack as a result of they use a distinct IT platform, stated Erik Hope, head of the federal government company in control of offering safety and companies to the ministries, throughout a press briefing on Monday.
Based on Hope, the hackers exploited a now-patched vulnerability within the platform of one of many authorities’s suppliers. The federal government’s safety specialists recognized the assault following “uncommon” site visitors on the provider’s platform. Hope declined to supply extra particulars till the investigation is over.
The assault didn’t disrupt the federal government’s operation. On account of the hack, workers of a number of Norwegian ministries couldn’t entry some shared companies on their cellphones, together with e-mail, however they might nonetheless use work gadgets with out situation, Norwegian cybersecurity officers stated.
The extent of the assault and the group behind it’s unknown. Norwegian safety officers stated throughout the press convention that they’ve applied “a variety of measures” in response to the assault.
“We’re taking this incident very critically,” stated Sigbjørn Gjelsvik, Norway’s minister of native authorities and regional growth.
The Norwegian safety authority didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Norway, a NATO member and Europe’s largest gasoline provider, has been a preferred goal amongst hackers lately. Earlier this month the Norwegian Refugee Council found a cyberattack focusing on a web-based database that shops the non-public data of challenge contributors.
The Norwegian recycling and mining company Tomra additionally warned about an “intensive” cyberattack affecting its techniques this month.
Final June, Norway suffered a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) assault, blamed on a “felony pro-Russian group.” Norway’s prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre warned later within the 12 months that Russia posed “an actual and critical menace” to the nation’s oil and gasoline trade.
In 2020, Norway blamed Russia for a cyberattack focusing on the Norwegian parliament’s e-mail techniques, which Moscow denied.
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Daryna Antoniuk
Daryna Antoniuk
is a contract reporter for Recorded Future Information primarily based in Ukraine. She writes about cybersecurity startups, cyberattacks in Jap Europe and the state of the cyberwar between Ukraine and Russia. She beforehand was a tech reporter for Forbes Ukraine. Her work has additionally been printed at Sifted, The Kyiv Impartial and The Kyiv Publish.
