Norwegian Government Faces Large-Scale Cyber Attack
The Norwegian government announced today about a large-scale cyber attack, which immediately affected 12 different ministries of the country. Primary access to the internal networks of the government was recorded on July 12. Today, responsible persons announced the elimination of the vulnerability, thanks to which this access became possible. [source]
“It is too early to say anything too early about who is behind this and what are the consequences of the attack. Our own, as well as a police investigation, will be able to provide more answers,” said Eric Hope, head of the government agency responsible for providing services to ministries, at a press conference.
As reported, the attack itself was identified due to the “unusual” traffic on the supplier platform, but the name of the supplier himself is not mentioned. The office of the Prime Minister, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Justice, was not injured, since they use another IT platform.
Norway is the largest gas supplier in Europe, after a decrease in Russian gas supplies, as well as the largest oil exporter in Western Europe.
The public sector of Norway has already been subjected to cyber attacks earlier, including attacks such as “Refusal of Service” or DDOS. The last such attack occurred at the end of June 2022.
Earlier, the Norway Cybersecurity Agency reported that the number of cyber attacks on the country increased three times between 2019 and 2021. At the same time, the number of serious incidents in 2022 was at the same level as in 2021.