According to the Norwegian Secret Police (PST), it will be almost impossible to investigate and solve Norway’s largest and most serious cases of data espionage, uncovered recently.
As we reported Thursday, at least ten Norwegian companies in the defense, oil and energy sectors have suffered from computer espionage and hacking, cases that are now being investigated by PST and the National Security Authority. Everything points to the same person or group being responsible for all ten cases, but most likely they will never get caught.
"These cases are not easy to investigate. They are followed up from here, but it is close to impossible to investigate and bring these cases to court, Tore Risberget, PST’s operational manager, told NRK.
"I think internet security in Norway is one big joke," Per Morten Hoff, Director of ICT-Norway (IKT-Norge) tells NRK. He criticizes the security of all 600 networks in Norway’s public sector.
Over the course of several months, a large number of databases have been systematically targeted. The last attack happened in early November. The attacker’s goal has been to collect information such as industrial drawings, private documents, user names and passwords, and most of the attacks have happened through attachments in emails.
The ten attacks currently being investigated is most likely only the tip of the iceberg, as many companies may have been attacked without being aware of it.
(NRK)
Julie Ryland
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