Russian Hackers Secretly Open Dam Valves for Four Hours
No Damage Reported Due to Minimal Water Discharge
It was belatedly revealed that Russian hackers remotely opened the drainage valves of a Norwegian dam in an attempt to release water.
The British daily The Guardian reported on the 14th (local time) that the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) announced such a hacking attack had occurred on April 7. The incident took place at a hydroelectric dam in the Bremanger region of western Norway. At that time, Russian hackers accessed the dam's remote control system and fully opened the drainage valves, releasing approximately 500 liters of water per second for four hours. However, since the dam's water level was low and the additional discharged amount was very minimal compared to the dam's maximum allowable discharge of 20,000 liters per second, there were no casualties or physical damage.
The hacking route is believed to have been due to a very weak, ordinary password, indicating that the hackers exploited a simple security vulnerability rather than employing advanced hacking techniques. It was also reported that, on the day of the attack, the hackers uploaded a video on Telegram with the name of a pro-Russian cyber group watermarked on it.
Beate Gang?s, head of the PST, officially announced that this attack was "carried out by pro-Russian hackers." This is the first case in which Norwegian intelligence agencies have officially identified a hacking incident as being linked to Russia. She added, "Over the past year, we have observed changes in the activity patterns of pro-Russian cyber attackers," and explained that "the dam discharge incident is one such example."
Russian Embassy in Norway Strongly Denies Involvement
Director Gang?s stated, "Such operations are intended to instill fear and confusion among the public," viewing this hacking and water release as a form of interstate cyber psychological warfare. She further warned, "The threat from Russia has increased," and said, "Russian intelligence agencies are investing significant resources to recruit and cultivate informants within Norway." The Norwegian National Criminal Investigation Service explained that the attack pattern of this hacker group matches those of recent cyberattacks targeting Western companies in the years following the Russia-Ukraine war. However, the Russian Embassy in Norway strongly denied any involvement, calling Director Gang?s's statement "a politically manipulated and baseless claim."
Norway shares a border with Russia stretching approximately 198 kilometers to the northeast. Norway is one of the world's leading hydropower nations, with more than 1,700 hydroelectric plants, and relies on hydropower for the majority of its electricity production.
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