Subsea infrastructure is one of a long series of security challenges facing Norway. This is shown in the report “Safety Professional Advice” that the National Security Authority (NSM) publishes today. “Experience in the time after the invasion shows that the underwater infrastructure that transports gas, power and electronic communication can be particularly exposed and vulnerable to sabotage and security-threatening activity during security policy crises,” the report states. Twice undersea cables on the Norwegian seabed have been damaged under mysterious circumstances in recent years. In the spring of 2021, 4.2 kilometers of cable disappeared without a trace from the ocean depths off Vesterålen. The police were unable to find the culprit(s), and dropped the case. However, the investigation showed that it was most likely a fishing vessel that had torn it away and then cut it off. news has previously shown that a number of Russian vessels were in the area in the relevant time period before the cable break was discovered. The cable shows signs of having been cut after it has been torn loose. Photo: Troms police district The cable was used by the Institute of Marine Research. It provided the researchers with valuable information and images from the depths of the ocean. The research equipment connected to the cable can also pick up Norwegian submarines and naval ships, or others hidden in our waters. The Norwegian Defense Research Institute (FFI) ensures that sensitive data is not shared further. Therefore, there was an immediate sense of crisis when several kilometers of the monitoring cable had disappeared without a trace. But it is not only security around underwater infrastructure that Norway has not taken seriously enough. – We must wake up The National Security Agency (NSM), whose mandate is to monitor threats against our country, has found over 50 security holes in Norway. They believe that the Norwegian authorities do not understand the threats to Norway and that they are not ready to deal with them either. The report they present today thus appears as criticism of the preparedness as it is today. Director of NSM, Sofie Nystrøm, says the situation is serious: – Yes, it is serious in the sense that we have to change how we work quite quickly. Nystrøm explains that we are facing a major and important time difference in the way Norway should assess and handle security. – We see that many businesses have become better at prioritizing security, but warn against thinking that the job is done, says Sofie Nystrøm, director of NSM. Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / news – We live today in a country that has been in deep peace for a long time. This characterizes our generation and those growing up today, according to her. – We must wake up and see the time difference that has actually become in Europe with regard to security after the invasion of Ukraine. She believes that it will be particularly important to understand how enormously important oil and gas will be for the continent’s development. Although Norway still lives at a privileged distance from the war. Outside the Norwegian coast, Norway has approximately 9,000 kilometers of pipelines that transport oil and gas to and from Norway. – The pace must pick up Some of the security challenges the NSM report says Norway is facing are these: The authorities have a lack of understanding of the situation. Businesses do not have sufficient access to threat and security information. Values that support basic national functions lack safeguards. Norway lacks agreed and unified national security goals. The security advice NSM now comes up with, thus sets a clear tone for the professional recommendations they give to the government. – Preparedness must be built in peacetime. That is why prioritizing measures now is one of the most important main messages we have in our safety council, says Nystrøm. She explains that the heightened threat picture we have around us means that we have to dimension the security measures in a different way. – We simply have to have the guard higher. How much does it cost to fix the security flaws? It is up to the government and the various ministries to assess what Norway needs to address. A concrete measure NSM proposes as a main point in its report is to establish a separate so-called “civilian-military situation centre”. “The center must ensure political leadership sufficient knowledge of the situation and access to comprehensive and timely decision-making support. It should be placed in close proximity to the government,” the report states. – If we are to meet the complex threat picture, then that is where we have to go. I think this is realistic to implement quite quickly. But that is up to the government, of course, says Nystrøm. – How many of the 47 pieces of advice you come up with must be corrected before we have a safer situation in the country? – We cannot close all vulnerabilities. The threat actors are concerned with finding the one vulnerability. But we can be better prepared and have better preparedness to cope with unpredictability. Then we can say that we have succeeded in implementing the recommendations we describe. Below the surface of the sea So back where we started. Subsea infrastructure. news has written a number of articles about the submarine cable breaks off Svalbard and Vesterålen. Now most recently Nord Stream, where news reveals that radio communications show that Russian ships were in the area near the gas pipe explosions just before it exploded. According to PST, foreign intelligence services map critical infrastructure in Norway. NSM believes this reinforces the security challenge. When important infrastructure is not sufficiently secured, it means that Norway takes an unnecessary and unacceptably high risk. – Have we protected submarine infrastructure better now – after the known cable breaks? – Ongoing risk assessments and the introduction of new tightening measures have been introduced, says Nystrøm to news, without going into detail about the specific measures. – But it could happen again, in Norway today? – So, underwater infrastructure is a complex area, which is constantly developing. It is often controlled from land. There are also land-based facilities with complicated software. So one should never take into account that it cannot happen, it is rather the reverse: that we have to dimension for events and repair quickly if things are going to happen in the future. – And it is this robustness that the Security Council focuses on – because we will not be able to ward off all types of threats going forward, says Nystrøm.
ttn-69
NSM warns of 50 security holes and directs sharp criticism – believes the authorities do not understand the threats – news Troms and Finnmark
