Russian cybercriminals attacked a dam in Norway, took control of it, and remotely opened the floodgates. This was reported by the head of the Norwegian Political Security Service, Beate Gangas.
According to The Guardian, the actions of an unnamed team of pro-Russian cybercriminals led to the release of water at a rate of 500 liters per second for about four hours before the relevant services noticed and stopped it. During this time, the dam released about 7,200 cubic meters of water due to the hackers. Gangas cited the Bremer Dam attack as an example of the growing activity of Russian-backed cybercriminals.
Norway gets most of its electricity from hydroelectric power plants. However, the dam that was attacked was mainly used for fisheries. Fortunately, there were no injuries or damage as a result of the gigantic flow of water. In April, when the attack took place, the water level in the river with the dam was “well below the critical level for flooding.” Had the weather conditions been different, residents of the neighboring town of Svelgen could have been at risk.
“The purpose of this type of operation is to influence and cause fear and chaos among the population,” Gangas said on Wednesday. “Our Russian neighbor has become more dangerous.”
Officially, the attack has already been classified as a state-sponsored act by Russia. The hacker group behind the dam attack consisted of individuals linked to several other cyberattacks on the West. In addition, the suspected culprits posted a three-minute video on social media on the day of the attack that bore the watermark of a pro-Russian cybercrime group.
Unsurprisingly, the Russian Embassy in Oslo characterized the Gangs’ claims as unfounded (“we are not there”). A report published in X stated:
“It is clear that PST is unsuccessfully trying to justify the mythical threat of Russian sabotage against Norwegian infrastructure this year, which it itself invented in its February report.”
Despite such denials, Russia has repeatedly threatened those who support Ukraine, even resorting to explicit nuclear threats. In addition, the Nordic countries have faced excessive pressure from Russia, with Finland and Sweden receiving warnings about joining NATO.
Previously, Russian hackers have repeatedly carried out attacks against to Ukraineand foreign organizations, including at Microsoft.
Source: tomshardware
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