NEWS ANALYSIS: Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Jonas Gahr Støre, leader of the opposition in Parliament, could agree on at least one thing on Wednesday: Russian cyber attacks on Members of Parliament and its employees mark a serious “downturn” in relations with Norway. Tensions had already been rising, prompting Norway to step up defense efforts […]
‘Historic’ reaction to Russian hacking
October 14, 2020
The Norwegian government is mounting what commentators are calling an “historic” reaction against Russia. It was front-page news on Wednesday after Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide blamed Norway’s neighbour in the north for an attack on the Norwegian Parliament’s email systems, and then went public with it. “This is a very serious incident, affecting our […]
Frigate loss didn’t hurt Navy chief
September 8, 2020
He led Norway’s naval defense when naval officers on board one of the country’s five frigates collided with a tanker in 2018 and later had to be scrapped. The frigate disaster hasn’t seemed to hurt the career of Vice-Admiral Nils Andreas Stensønes, though, after he was promoted and appointed as the new chief of Norway’s […]
Russia retaliates in espionage case
August 28, 2020
Norway’s foreign ministry confirmed on Friday that one of its diplomats in Moscow is being expelled from Russia, after Norway expelled a Russian diplomat last week. The retaliation was not unexpected as both countries accuse the other of spying. Jan Flæte, who carried the title of ambassaderåd at Norway’s embassy in Moscow, is being declared […]
Man admits selling state info to Russia
August 17, 2020
Norway’s police intelligence agency PST has charged a Norwegian man in his 50s with espionage after arresting him in an Oslo restaurant over the weekend. He has since admitted selling information to Russian agents that PST considers to be state secrets. State broadcaster NRK reported Monday night that the man, an employee of Oslo-based classification […]
Russian diplomats tied to spy agency
May 6, 2020
Three diplomats at the Russian Embassy in Oslo were identified by newspaper Aftenposten on Wednesday as having ties to Russia’s military intelligence agency known as GRU. It’s been accused of murder and poisonings in addition to spying, while Norway’s own police intelligence agency PST claims the “real number” of intelligence agents operating in Norway “is much […]
Spying agencies under more fire
February 5, 2020
Norway’s two intelligence-gathering agencies are back on the defense this week, this time in the Oslo County Court. Less than a month after the state paid out millions in compensation to a retired border inspector who got caught in a Russian spy trap, it’s now defending itself against more charges of allegedly clumsy recruiting that […]
Spy gets millions in compensation
January 23, 2020
The Norwegian government has agreed to pay what convicted spy Frode Berg calls “generous” compensation, for the “ordeal” he was subjected to “during two years in a Russian prison.” Berg, who was arrested in Moscow in December 2017 and charged with espionage, says he now feels like the state is taking responsibility for a bungled […]
Parliament reacts to PST’s illegalities
December 6, 2019
The disciplinary committee of the Norwegian Parliament looks set to call in for questioning both the head of Norway’s police intelligence unit PST and the country’s justice minister. They’re ultimately responsible for how PST illegally gathered huge quantities of information from airline passenger lists and then stored it, in what’s been dubbed the latest “scandal” […]
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