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HARD REACTION AGAINST RUSSIA: On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide directly pointed to Russia for being behind the data breach at the Storting. Both the EU and Norway are imposing sanctions on Russia after the cyber attacks. Photo: Hanna Kristin Hjardar
The government plans no more reaction against Russia than public reprimand, after the theft of the Storting’s computer system. But four Russian agents have been banned from entering Norway after another high-profile hacker attack in 2018.
– We consider the data breach against the Storting as a specific individual case and we have reacted clearly because we believe that we have sufficient documentation that Russia was behind it. We have clearly told Russia now: we have seen you. Enough, says Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen to VG.
– Will there be more backlash against Russia after this data breach?
– Attribution is a political reaction to a single event. It was necessary to react so harshly to an attack on our most important political institution, says the Minister of Defense.
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The Russian embassy in Oslo responded forcefully on Tuesday: “A serious, deliberate and destructive provocation for bilateral relations,” the embassy wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
The Russian reaction was as expected, according to the defense minister:
– When something like this happens against the Storting, which is our most important democratic institution, he sees it for two possible purposes: either to extract information, or to generate uncertainty among us about the institution. That’s why we had to react so strongly, says Bakke-Jensen.
High sum of negative cases
But for the government, this is a balancing act between clear reactions and the desire for the best possible neighborhood relationship:
– The government wants a good relationship with Russia, based on mutual respect. That is why it is necessary to be clear and distinct. The sum of negative problems in the bilateral relationship is high at the moment, but it is not due to Norwegian politics, writes Audun Halvorsen (H), Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in an SMS to VG.
– We cannot accept activities as we have seen directed to the Storting. It is a strong and unequivocal signal from the Norwegian authorities that we are also addressing the matter in public. In other cases, we have previously joined forces with the EU to impose sanctions on individuals and companies behind serious cyber operations, it adds.
He responded with sanctions
The Foreign Ministry now confirms that Norway on July 30 joined a targeted punitive response from the EU against four named Russians, who were arrested in The Hague in 2018.
All four were revealed during a data breach attempt against the OPCW, the organization to ban chemical weapons, where the Russians attempted to connect to the organization’s internal network from a nearby car.
The Netherlands did exactly what Norway did this week: a few months later, the government came out and directly held Russia responsible for the attempted robbery.
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Joint EU response
The EU reaction in July this year was the first time the EU introduced direct sanctions against cybercrime:
In a coordinated decision, the European Commission decided to commission a total of six people – two Chinese and four Russians – as well as three institutions: a branch of the Russian military intelligence organization GRU, an export company based in Korea. North and a technology company in China.
The sanctions mean that deposits in bank accounts in EU countries or other assets are frozen, in addition, entry bans are imposed and a ban is imposed on the trade of individuals and groups.
Norway quickly joined the sanctions:
– Covered persons are prohibited from entering Norway and the EU. We are also working to implement legislation to freeze their financial resources, says Secretary of State Halvorsen at the Foreign Ministry.
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Investigating more
In Norway, PST continues the investigation after the Storting attack this summer. If one is successful in finding concrete evidence against persons named in the case, the sanctions are now considered a possible reaction.
In Germany, five years have passed since the Bundestag was subjected to a cyber attack in 2015, and Chancellor Angela Merkel in May this year pointed out that Russia was behind.
Earlier this year, Germany issued an international arrest warrant for a Russian named after the attack. He is linked to the military intelligence organization GRU.
