Norway’s security service PST says pro-Russian hackers took over a dam in April, opening outflow valves.
Norway’s Police Security Service (PST) says pro-Russian hackers seized control of a dam’s systems in April, opening outflow valves.
On April 7, the attackers took control of a dam in Bremanger, western Norway, opening a flood gate to release 500 liters of water per second for four hours before being stopped. Fortunately, no injuries occurred, but the incident underscored the risks to Norway’s hydropower-dependent energy infrastructure.
The attack was a demonstrative hack to show their ability to target critical infrastructure.
PST chief Beate Gangås said the attack aimed to showcase hacker capabilities, intending to influence and instill fear or unrest rather than cause destruction.
“Over the past year, we have seen a change in activity from pro-Russian cyber actors,” Beate Gangaas, head of Norway’s PST security police agency, said.
“The aim of this type of operation is to influence and to cause fear and chaos among the general population,” she added. “Our Russian neighbour has become more dangerous.”
“They don’t necessarily aim to cause destruction, but to show what they are capable of,” said the head of the counter-intelligence agency PST, Beate Gangås, commenting on the attack. “The purpose of these kinds of actions is to exert influence and create fear or unrest in the population,”
The Russian embassy in Oslo dismissed Gangaas’ claims as unfounded and politically driven, accusing Norway’s PST of fabricating a “mythical” Russian sabotage threat.
Pro-Russian hackers are becoming even more dangerous, using hybrid tactics like subversion, influence, polarization, and covert intelligence to weaken Norway without direct acts of war.
Gangås added that dozens of Russian-linked actions in Europe since late 2023, including sabotage and arson plots, have been aiming to spread unrest and map vulnerabilities. Intelligence chief Nils Andreas Stensønes calls Russia Norway’s biggest, most unpredictable threat, though neither he nor PST expect direct interference in this autumn’s elections.
In June, Norway’s Criminal Investigation Service Kripos confirmed the dam intrusion after pro-Russian hacktivists posted a three-minute video on Telegram showing its control panel, bearing the group’s watermark.
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Pierluigi Paganini
(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Norway)