The Russian hacker group Killnets started the week by attacking websites in Lithuania, after Russian dissatisfaction with the Kaliningrad blockade. Then the members attacked Norway. The websites of Arbeidstilsynet, BankID, Altinn, news and various Schibsted newspapers such as VG were all affected by computer attacks on Wednesday. The Norwegian blockade of Russian transport to Svalbard was cited as the reason. – The group that attacked us is seen as the Russians’ response to the hacker group Anonymous, an organized disorganized group. There is no doubt that Norway was under attack, but it was possibly more unsophisticated than other computer attacks we have seen, says Thomas Tømmernes, security expert in the IT company Atea. Thomas Tømmernes is an IT security expert at Atea and believes that the Russian attack on Norway was more like a prank than something that causes direct damage. Photo: Fredrik Formoe Solbrekken / Atea / Fredrik Formoe Solbrekken – Do mischief Tømmernes believes Wednesday’s attack was successful because the group got the media attention they probably wanted. – These are more pranks and mischief than something that causes direct damage. If they want to take down a website, they have to stay longer and do more things, he says. – An attack on critical Norwegian infrastructure such as power stations, hospitals, electricity or waterworks, can destroy much more, says Tømmernes. Back to normal operation According to the National Security Authority (NSM), all affected businesses were in normal operation on Thursday. This is due to effective countermeasures and the fact that the traffic from the attackers has decreased, writes acting department director Lene Kaland to news. – For society, yesterday’s events had virtually no practical consequences, apart from the fact that certain services or websites were unavailable or could be perceived as slower over a limited period, Kaland writes. – Our assessment, based on dialogue with affected companies in addition to our own monitoring, is that this has now been handled, and that the services that have been affected are in normal operation, writes Lene Kaland, acting department director in the National Security Authority (NSM) and leader for the National Cyber Security Center. Photo: National Security Authority – What is perhaps more important is the so-called signaling effect such an operation has on the population and society, as it creates noise and can form the basis for fear and insecurity. The hacker group Killnet posted this message on the social network Telegram today. Photo: SKJERMDUMP Do not think Norwegians were frightened The average Norwegian probably did not experience Wednesday as a major crisis, thinks Geir Øivind Gulliksen, head of the IT company Crayon. He also describes the attack as relatively harmless because data did not go astray. – If this was the cyber attack we can expect from Russia, I would say that it appears to be relatively unsuccessful. The purpose of the Russians was probably to create insecurity and instability, I do not think they succeed with that, he says. Gulliksen believes one of the hackers’ goals was to get massive media coverage. But it is natural that the Norwegian media mentions the attack, especially given the war in Ukraine, he says. – It is naive to believe that Norway is not a target. During the last 12 to 18 months, we have unfortunately seen several examples of us also being exposed to – and being hit by – digital attacks, says Geir Øivind Gulliksen, head of the IT company Crayon. Photo: Crayon Norway It is naive to believe that Norway is not a goal, Gulliksen believes. – Confidence in Norwegian IT systems is probably not significantly lower now. That said, we got a significant taste of what might hit us. It is important that Norwegian companies recognize the threat picture and take the necessary measures. Can buy attacks on the “dark web” Several of the Norwegian companies’ websites were down for periods on Wednesday. These so-called “denial-of-service attacks” occur in that the attackers behind them have access to many millions of PCs. Then the traffic is directed through these and towards a website until it kneels and lies down. – This is not to say that those who carry out the attack own access to the PCs, because they can rent this on the “dark web”. It is quite common to sell such attacks where you take down a server, says Thomas Tømmernes, security expert in the IT company Atea. The website’s security protection determines how long the page stays down, Tømmernes says. This is the hacker group Killnet’s profile on the Russian social network VKontakte. Photo: SCREEN – The BankID service is behind well-secured lines. It was only the website with information about BankID that went down yesterday, not the service itself that you use to log in to various services. The police, Finans-Norge and others who operate critical infrastructure have good protection in Norway, he says. – Not life and death Nils Kalstad is director of the Center for Cyber and Information Security and head of department at NTNU. He believes the attack is a reminder to be vigilant. – When the National Security Authority (NSM) comments on the case as an attack on parts of national infrastructure, it is serious, he says. Kalstad believes we must get used to living with this type of attack. – It was noticeable, but it was not about life and death or any injury. This is what the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority’s website looked like at 10.20. Photo: SKJERMDUMP The use of a manipulated Disney image by Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (Labor Party), Kalstad believes, can be compared with the public opinion influence the Russian authorities have on their own population. Russia constantly calls countries and individuals who criticize Russia Nazis, according to Sweden’s foreign ministry. – The extreme version is what the Russians do internally where they have put up pictures of Astrid Lindgren in a bus shelter around Moscow and called all Swedes Nazis. It is the same philosophy as the image that was used yesterday, says Kalstad.
ttn-69
– These are more stunts and mischief than something that causes direct damage – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
