The case in summary A Hungarian man was arrested on Andøya in Nordland, suspected of hacking data at the German aerospace company Isar Aerospace. The man is charged with having illegally gained access to the company’s computer system and downloaded data onto an external hard drive. He has worked for Isar Aerospace for six months before his arrest, and his defense says he denies any criminal responsibility. The man was remanded in custody for two weeks in complete isolation, on the basis of the possibility of tampering with evidence. PST is also informed about the investigation. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – The case resembles a typical intelligence case, says former head of the intelligence group E-14, Ola Kaldager, based on what is known about the case so far. Two weeks ago, a person with Hungarian citizenship was arrested in Andøy municipality in Nordland, suspected of computer hacking. The break-in is said to have taken place at the German aerospace company Isar Aerospace, which is based on Andøya in Vesterålen. The company specializes in launch vehicles for transporting satellites into space, and has a collaboration with the neighboring company Andøya Space on launches. The person was remanded in custody for two weeks, in complete isolation, on the basis of the possibility of tampering with evidence. The imprisonment expires on Saturday. The police in Nordland have not yet replied to news whether they will request further detention. PST is also informed about the investigation. Two weeks before the arrest, the PST went out and specifically warned the duck island community that they were of interest to foreign intelligence services. Wasn’t allowed to write about the background – the court overturned But the media was not allowed to report on the background of the imprisonment – until news appealed against the decision, and was upheld in the Salten and Lofoten District Court. Now news can say that the person has been charged under section 204 of the Criminal Code, for having illegally gained access to a computer system. The police believe the person in question illegally logged into the computer systems of the space company on 22 May this year. It is such launch vehicles for satellites that the German aerospace company Isar Aerospace wishes to launch in the future. Photo: ISAR Aerospace This must have happened from the man’s address in Hungary, or from another address, the police write. “At the same time, he downloaded data belonging to the company onto an external hard drive, and installed malicious software on a laptop computer belonging to the company,” the prison order says. The incident was reported on 7 June. The aerospace company Isar Aerospace is located on the outer side of Andøya in Vesterålen. The police went into action On Thursday 27 June, the police went into action at an address in Andenes municipal center in Andøy municipality. Here, a quantity of storage units was seized in connection with the search. In the detention order from 29 June, the police wrote that they had no control over what kind of content has been copied onto the external storage devices, and whether this has been passed on to outsiders. The Hungarian man was arrested at Andenes, which is the municipal center in Andøy municipality. Photo: Lars-Bjørn Martinsen / news The police also wrote that they had not had control over the accused’s movements after the incident on 22 May, where the person had been and who he had been in contact with. There was also no overview of whether there could be other storage devices or cloud services that should be controlled. Therefore, the police argue with detention while going through the seizures. The police believed that detention at risk of tampering with evidence was necessary in case the accused could remove any evidence. Defense attorney: – Worked in the company for half a year Tor Haug is the defense attorney for the Hungarian man who has been charged. – My client pleads not guilty and completely disagrees with the charge, says Haug. On Thursday, the Hungarian man was questioned by the police. Defense attorney Haug is not yet aware of the outcome of the questioning, but had a long conversation with his client on Wednesday. The defense attorney says that the man has been employed by the German aerospace company and worked for them with IT for six months. Lawyer Tor Haug is defending the Hungarian man, who is in custody until Saturday. He says his client denies criminal guilt, and is incomprehensive about the charge. Photo: Marius Guttormsen / news – What can you say about your client’s social network at Andenes? – He has not lived there for long, and came there to work for the company. There is no indication that he has had an extensive network at Andenes, says Haug. The defender does not want to say what his client has explained to the police about the hard drives found in the apartment where he lived, nor does he want to go into the accusations of having installed malicious software at the space company. – He has been in full isolation for 14 days. The police have had time to investigate the case. If they conclude that it should not be extended, it is proof that the police have done the necessary investigation. news has been in contact with Isar Aerospace, which confirms that it was a former employee of the company who was arrested. – As of now, there is no evidence of damage to our IT systems, and neither intellectual property, employee nor customer data has been affected. Furthermore, the company writes that they have carried out an extensive investigation of the company’s security systems. – We can confirm that our network is secure, the company says in a statement to news. Spy expert: – Typical intelligence case – IT is becoming increasingly important. It requires that the people who will do this type of intelligence work are experts and engineers. It is new, says intelligence expert Kaldager. He has no doubt that the case will lead to a completely different security around the duck island community. Kaldager says that there are still clear traces of the Soviet dominance in many Eastern European countries, such as Hungary. – Most had great difficulty in freeing themselves from Russia’s grip after the wall fell. Ola Kaldager is the former head of the intelligence group E-14, and believes the case is similar to a typical intelligence case. Photo: Beth Mørch Pettersen / news It is therefore natural that the authorities are still skeptical of some of the countries. And Hungary is the country that was perhaps most dominated by Russia, according to Kaldager. – It is the lone wolves that are the most dangerous, if they are skilled, says Kaldager and adds: – It is difficult to catch them because they do not operate together with others. – Have been naive in Norway Nevertheless, Kaldager says that it is important for a person who runs intelligence to have contacts in the area for his own safety. – It is not certain that they know anything. They don’t have to be part of it and can be a cover for him to settle into society. Therefore, it is also common for intelligence agents to stay in an area for a long time. – We have been quite naive in Norway in this field. It is only after the invasion of Ukraine that PST and politicians have understood that the world is no longer the same. But why the Hungarian worker was taken, the former intelligence chief believes, will be answered. At least before any court case – If he has had a client in the intelligence service, you don’t want them to know his name. If the name is “blown”, it often leads to the object being set loose being even more secured, says Kaldager. Published 11.07.2024, at 13.27 Updated 11.07.2024, at 14.07
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Hungarians arrested for computer hacking on Andøya – the police found heaps of hard drives – news Nordland
