Norway has reported a threefold increase in successful cyberattacks against organisations in the country over the past six months, prompting its National Security Authority (NSM) to warn of growing threats to national security.
In a report published on Tuesday, the NSM said Norwegian organisations faced increasing cyber risks, with the defence industry, space sector and critical infrastructure among the areas of particular concern. The agency also warned that the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) was creating new opportunities for cybercriminals and other malicious actors.
The authority, which works to counter espionage and hybrid threats, said organisations providing essential services and those supplying services to entities important to national security were also exposed to cyberattacks.
NSM Director Arne Christian Haugstøyl said the agency had decided to make its assessment public because Norwegian organisations needed to improve their ability to withstand and respond to cyber operations.
“NSM has not previously made this type of assessment public,” Haugstøyl said. “We are doing so now because it is absolutely necessary to strengthen both the resilience and the ability to handle cyber operations in Norwegian organisations.”
The warning comes amid growing concern across Europe about suspected Russian hybrid operations, including cyberattacks targeting government institutions and essential services. Hybrid threats can involve a combination of cyber operations, disinformation, espionage and other activities intended to disrupt or undermine a country.
In August, Norwegian media reported that a Russian hacker group had declared war on Norway and claimed responsibility for a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. The incident reportedly affected several government digital services.
However, the NSM’s latest report did not identify a specific country or group as responsible for the increase in successful cyberattacks. Instead, it highlighted a broader pattern of threats facing Norwegian organisations, including reconnaissance activities, ransomware and DDoS attacks.
Reconnaissance involves gathering information about a potential target to identify weaknesses that could later be exploited. Ransomware attacks typically involve malicious software that locks or encrypts data, with attackers demanding payment to restore access. DDoS attacks attempt to overwhelm websites or online services with large volumes of traffic, potentially making them unavailable to users.
The NSM also singled out artificial intelligence as a growing security concern. According to Haugstøyl, AI can analyse large amounts of information and identify system weaknesses faster than traditional methods, potentially allowing attackers to discover and exploit vulnerabilities more quickly and on a wider scale.
“AI analyzes large amounts of data and identifies vulnerabilities faster than humans have been able to,” Haugstøyl said. “These vulnerabilities open up new opportunities for cyberattacks at a faster pace and on a larger scale.”
He warned that organisations needed to accelerate the implementation of security measures as the risks increased.
“This means that the risk is increasing, and the pace at which security measures are implemented must be accelerated,” he said.
The report places renewed attention on the security of Norway’s digital systems, particularly those supporting defence, space operations, essential infrastructure and services linked to national security. The NSM’s warning highlights the need for organisations to identify weaknesses, strengthen their defences and improve their ability to respond when cyber incidents occur.
