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On Tuesday, the government announced that it had considered Russia to be behind the attack on the Storting on 24 August. Later, several email accounts of parliamentary representatives and employees were attacked.
The first reactions from the Russian parliament came on Tuesday night. They react sharply to the fact that the Norwegian government blames them for the cyber attack.
The head of the Foreign Affairs Committee calls Norway’s accusations pure nonsense.
Others believe there are allegations that are not supported by evidence.
American Impressions
A Russian intelligence expert tells NRK that Russia’s secret services do not care about emails from Storting representatives.
– No intelligence service will delve into the emails of elected representatives. It’s uninteresting and pointless, says Russian Security Council adviser Andrej Manoilo.
He believes that it may have been pressure from the United States.
– The Norwegian Foreign Minister probably did not want to express himself so bluntly. But this statement may have been the result of very strong pressure from the United States, he says.
Believe that Russia is behind
– Based on the information base held by the government, our assessment is that Russia is behind the cyber attack on the Storting, Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide said on Tuesday.
This is the first time that the government has attributed responsibility for a crime.
The government is confident that Russia stands behind it and sends the message that a cyber attack is unacceptable. This is an attribution.
– It is important for us to hold Russia accountable. We cannot accept that the Storting is exposed to such attacks, says Eriksen Søreide during a meeting with the press on Tuesday.
But the attribution has no legal consequences. The task of PST is to find out if someone can be held criminally responsible for the attacks on the data.
Don’t accept the accusations
The Russian embassy in Norway wrote on Facebook that the accusation is unacceptable.
– We see this as a serious and intentional provocation, and as destructive to bilateral conditions. We demand an explanation from the Norwegian side, writes the embassy.
Also speaking is the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the upper house of the Russian Parliament, Konstantin Kosachev. He says allegations have been made again without anyone bothering to prove them.
Konstantin Kosachev believes that these are unfounded accusations.
Photo: Vincent Kessler / Reuters
“As always, there are accusations against Russia without bothering to prove them and without proposing to discuss them at the expert level,” he told the Tass news agency.
Kosachev also recalls that an employee of the Russian parliament was detained in Oslo for a month for no reason, after being accused of espionage during a conference at the Storting.
PST is still investigating
The case was reported to the Police Security Service and the case is still being investigated.
Trond Hugubakken, PST communications director, tells NRK that they don’t want to comment on the Foreign Ministry’s findings now.
– We are continuing to investigate the case. Only when the investigation is complete can we go out and say what our conclusion is. So it continues regardless of what the government has done today.
NRK
Explain
Why is email so interesting to hackers?
for answers
Email is in many ways the key to our digital life. There you will often find conversations dating back several years in time and confidential documents.
By accessing an email account, you can also access other online services. You can indicate on a website that you have forgotten your password. Then there will be a link to the email account and you will have access to the website.
How do hackers access someone’s email?
It is quite common for people to use the same password in multiple places. Simple passwords a hacker can guess. Many also have passwords that deviate from previous data breaches, something hackers diligently use in new attacks.
Are emails from ordinary people vulnerable?
In recent years, it has become increasingly popular to target companies and organizations with so-called ransomware viruses. These viruses shut down all the computers they access. Many of these attacks start with a seemingly innocent email sent to one or more company employees.
It is also common for criminals to attack the private email accounts of people with an important role in a company. These hackers often have financial motives for the attack.
When private accounts are attacked, it is because the owner is somehow interesting to the attacker.
How can I protect myself from being hacked?
The most important thing you can do is get a double factor on the email account you have at work and in private. With two factors, you get a unique and temporary code via text message or in an app. This makes it much more difficult for an attacker: now they need to know both your password and the unique code to enter.
Experts also recommend that you get a so-called password manager. It is a program that stores all your passwords in one place. In this way, you can have different passwords on all web pages, at the same time that you just I need to remember a password.
Read more about the case here:
– Russia sees the West as a threat
Russian expert and principal investigator at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment (FFI) Tor Bukkvoll says this helps to worsen relations between Russia and Norway.
– Only one more stone left in the load. The relationship is pretty bad, this makes it worse, says Bukkvoll.
NUPI researcher and Russia expert Julie Wilhelmsen explains that Russia views the West as a threat.
– That the Storting is hacked by Russia is not surprising given the conflict Russia and the West are facing today, says Wilhelmsen.
She says that cyber attacks are a type of weapon that is considered among the most common and effective.
– You can say that the attack by hackers is a new type of measure against Norway by Russia, but it is part of a large conflict landscape in which various weapons have been used, he says.
NATO is concerned
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg describes the attack on the Storting as unacceptable and says NATO is concerned.
Jens Stoltenberg relies on the Norwegian authorities’ assessment that Russia is behind the attacks.
Photo: Olivier Matthys / AP
Norway on Tuesday accused Russia of being behind the attack on the Storting this summer.
– The attack by hackers in the Storting is serious, and we trust the Norwegian authorities’ assessment that it is Russia that is behind the attack, Stoltenberg tells TV 2.
– NATO is concerned because it fits into a pattern that we have seen in other countries. Such attacks are unacceptable and undermine trust, he says.
Navarsete is not surprising
Liv Signe Navarsete’s (Sp) account was hacked without success. He is a member of the Storting’s Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee.
He was not surprised that the government believes Russia is behind it.
– I think it is a shame because it does not help to improve relations with Russia. We are a small country that has a lot to gain from a good relationship with our neighbors. But it is important to say it clearly, and I am very confident that the Foreign Minister will do so, Navarsete tells NRK.
– Russia is ready to commit attacks
The chairwoman of the Storting’s Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, Anniken Huitfeldt (Labor Party), believes that it is serious if it is true that Russia is behind the cyber attack.
Anniken Huitfeldt is confident that the Foreign Minister will handle this matter prudently in relation to Russia.
Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB scanpix
– It’s serious business, but not surprising. We have seen attacks on the Norwegian GSM network during a major military exercise in the north, and now we get information about it. Russia is ready to commit this kind of attack, Huitfeldt says.
She is confident that the Foreign Minister can handle this wisely with Russia.
– We have a pragmatic and practically good cooperation with Russia. But we are always very open when we have reason to criticize them, he says.
– Live in a demanding threat image
The chairman of the Storting, Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen (H), takes information from the government seriously.
– We know that we live in a demanding threat landscape and that politicians and the Storting are exposed to attacks and threats. That is why the information we received today that the government considers Russia to be behind it is very serious, says Trøen.
Storting President Tone Trøen says security at the Storting was good but has now been tightened even more.
Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB Scanpix
The data attack has led to stricter security routines at the Storting.
– Security in the Storting is good, but another learning point here was that we had to adjust the password requirements. We know that the Storting is exposed to threats and attacks. That’s why working safely is very important, he says.
