Norway spy chief accuses Russian hackers of dam sabotage April

The head of Norway's counterintelligence agency revealed on Wednesday that Russian hackers temporarily took control of a Norwegian dam earlier this year. This is the first official time Oslo has attributed the cyberattack by its neighbor.

Authorities previously stated that on April 7, while in control of the Bremanger dam, west Norway, the hackers opened a flooding gate and released 500 litres of water (132 gallons per second) for four hours until the attack was detected.

The attack did not result in any injuries.

Norway generates most of its electricity through hydropower dams, and the intelligence agencies have warned about the danger of an attack on its energy infrastructure.

In a recent speech, Beate Gangaas of Norway's PST Security Police agency said that "we have seen a shift in the activity from pro Russian cyber actors."

Gangaas said that the incident at Bremanger is one of these activities.

She said that the goal of such an operation was to incite fear and chaos and influence the public.

Our Russian neighbor has become more dangerous.

The Russian Embassy in Oslo didn't immediately respond to a comment request.

In September last year, Britain's spy chief charged that Russia was waging an "astonishingly reckless" campaign of sabotage against Europe in part to deter European countries from assisting Ukraine. Moscow denies that this is the case.

Gangaas said that after her speech she would go public with this attribution in order to warn the population and prevent Russia from launching any further attacks.

In an interview, she stated: "I want Norwegians prepared."

NATO member Norway shares a border in the Arctic with Russia. It is also a strong supporter of Ukraine, like the other Nordic nations. It is Europe's biggest gas supplier, with most of the gas being transported through a network under the North Sea. (Reporting and writing by Gwladys Fauché, editing by Christina Fincher.)

(source: Reuters)