Pro-Russian hackers Server Killers attack Norway's digital services
The pro-Russian group Server Killers has claimed responsibility for a major cyber attack on Norway's state administration, which has been ongoing since Monday. Norwegian officials have not yet officially commented on the attack.
Pro-Russian hacker group declares "cyber war" on Norway
The pro-Russian hacker group Server Killers has claimed responsibility for a cyber attack on Norway's state administration digital services, which has been ongoing since Monday. According to Aktuality citing the AP news agency, this is the most extensive cyber attack of its kind ever directed at Norway.
Are Kvistad, spokesman for the Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management (Digdir), confirmed that the attacks have affected multiple digital platforms of public services over the past three days. Digdir is responsible for digitisation and accessibility of public services in the country. According to Kvistad, the agency has managed to maintain service functionality for citizens despite the attacks.
The attackers used the DoS (denial of service) method — inundating servers with a large number of false requests in an attempt to paralyse their operations.
On the Telegram platform, the Server Killers group declared that it would declare "cyber war" on Norway in response to the renewal of security cooperation between Oslo and Ukraine. This occurred on Sunday, 23 August, when Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Störe announced during a visit to Kyiv that Norway would allocate an additional 85 billion Norwegian kroner to Ukraine in the fiscal year 2027 — approximately 7.8 billion euros. Norway and Ukraine also confirmed cooperation in the field of drone technology and other forms of modern warfare.
Norwegian officials have not yet officially commented on the Server Killers group's claim of responsibility for the attack. According to Norwegian media, this group is directly or indirectly linked to previous cyber attacks in Norway and other European countries.
Norwegian officials also stated that hackers linked to Russia were likely behind sabotage of the Bremanger dam last summer — they allegedly gained access to the remote control system of one of the valves and opened it, thereby increasing water flow.
AP points out that European states are on high alert. Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has intensified sabotage activities across the continent, according to officials, with the aim of undermining support for Ukraine, spreading fear and exhausting the resources of European states.
Source: Aktuality