Twelve Norwegian ministries were the target of a computer attack, authorities in Oslo said on Monday, adding that the origin of the operation had not yet been determined and an investigation had been opened.
“A previously unknown vulnerability has been detected in the software of one of our vendors,” said Erik Hope, director of the Norwegian government agency responsible for computer security.
“This vulnerability is being exploited by an unknown actor (…). It is too early to say who is responsible (for the attack) and to determine the scale of the action,” the official said at a press conference, quoted by international agencies.
The functioning of the Norwegian Government was not affected, that is, the office of the prime minister and the Ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Justice, since these structures have their own digital platforms.
According to Erik Hope, the vulnerability has been fixed, but employees of the 12 affected ministries are still unable to access their work email on their mobile phones or tablets.
“Government work continues as normal,” Regional Affairs Minister Sigbjorn Gjelsvik said.
Police authorities have already launched an investigation.
In 2020 and 2021, the Norwegian parliament was subject to hacking attacks, one of which was attributed to the Russian hacker group Fancy Bear, allegedly linked to Russian intelligence services.
At the time, the Moscow embassy in Oslo considered Norway’s “unproven” allegations “unacceptable.”
Source: TSF
