A criminal pro-Russian hacker group is believed to be behind a series of cyber attacks on Norwegian websites over the past week. Norway’s national security authority NSM was the latest to get hit on Monday.
NSM (Nasjonal sikkerhetsmyndighet) confirmed that its website was down at midday but it quickly came up again. It was NSM’s supplier of its website services, Coretrek, that got hit by a flood of inquiries meant to overload its server. The pro-Russian hacker group Killnett was once again reportedly behind the attack.
It’s the latest in a string of cyber attacks on Norwegian websites, reported newspaper Aftenposten, with ferry companies Boreal and Bastø Fosen also down on Monday. Sofie Nystrøm of NSM said last week that Norwegian companies need to be prepared for an escalation of attacks.
“These are goal-oriented attacks with a broad reach,” Nystrøm said. “Most of the sites come up again after a short time, though, and function well.” She warned of more attacks: “We expect further escalation of the threats we’ve seen against Norwegian websites. Given the situation in Ukraine (which Norway recently announced it’s supporting with billions of kroner in more aid) we must expect a further increase of cyber attacks against Norwegian operations.”
NewsinEnglish.no staff
