Norway’s Government Ministries Hit by Cyber Attack

Uploaded on 2023-08-03 in FREE TO VIEW

The Norwegian government has been hit by an unknown cyber hacker and the attacks have hit 12 government ministries.

The government minister overseeing response to the attack called it “extremely serious” but stressed that the government’s work is otherwise “proceeding as normal.”

The attack was discovered on the ICT platform, (Information and Communications Technology), by officials who are now analysing the attack, and it has raised concerns over the nation’s cyber security.

Erik Hope, the director of the Norwegian ministries’ security and service organisation has published a press statement revealing that the attack exploited a previously unknown vulnerability in the software of one of their suppliers. "We have uncovered a previously unknown vulnerability in the software of one of our suppliers," Hope said.

"This vulnerability has been exploited by an unknown actor. We have now closed this vulnerability. It is too early to say anything about who is behind it and the scale of the attack. Our investigations and the police’s investigation will be able to provide more answers."

Despite the severity of the attack, Norwegian authorities have assured the public that the government’s work is continuing as normal.

However, the 12 impacted ministries are currently facing disruptions, with workers unable to access common mobile services, including email.

However the important ministries such as the Prime Minister’s services, defense, foreign affairs, and justice, have their separate platforms and were not impacted by the cyber attack. This isolation has allowed these crucial departments to continue functioning without interruption.

This is not the first time Norway’s Government have been hit by cyber attacks. In 2020 and 2021, the Norwegian Parliament came under attack by hackers, with at least one of the incidents being attributed to Russian hackers.

The recurrence of such attacks highlights the growing need for bolstering cyber security measures and international cooperation in combatting cyber threats.

Teiss: Euro News: Norwegian Government: Reuters: Bloomberg: Norwegian Government: News In English

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