Massive DDoS attack disrupts Norway’s government digital services
A large DDoS attack has disrupted Norway’s shared government digital infrastructure, affecting services used by the public sector. The attack started on Monday and has targeted the infrastructure supporting services operated by the Norwegian Digitalization Agency and its …
Intelligence analysis by Llama
A massive DDoS attack has disrupted Norway’s government digital services, causing several services to be completely unavailable for short periods. The agency has stabilized many affected systems, but some services remain partially inaccessible.
Imagine a big group of people trying to visit a website at the same time, but the website can't handle it. That's basically what's happening with Norway's government digital services. A big group of people are trying to visit the website, but it's getting overwhelmed and can't work properly.
Analysis
Background
The Norwegian Digitalization Agency, Digitaliseringsdirektoratet (Digdir), operates Norway’s shared digital government infrastructure, including public-service logins, electronic IDs and signatures, secure digital mail, government forms, public-record access, and data exchange between agencies. The agency has been targeted by a large DDoS attack since Monday, affecting services used by the public sector.
What Changed
The attack started at 03.38 CEST on Monday and has targeted the infrastructure supporting services operated by Digdir and its operations provider, Vivicta. The agency states that several services were completely unavailable for short periods, and many affected systems have now been stabilized, although some services, like ID-porten and eSignering, remain partially inaccessible.
What's Next
The Norwegian National Security Authority (NSM) and the Norwegian Data Protection Authority (Datatilsynet) have been notified accordingly. There is currently no official attribution for the attack, although Norwegian media have speculated about potential Russian involvement. The agency has assured that this is the third DDoS attack targeting Digdir recently, following one in June and another on August 3. The agency has also stated that there is no indication of a security breach affecting the organization’s systems or any compromise of personal data.
Key points
- A large DDoS attack has disrupted Norway’s government digital infrastructure.
- The attack has affected services used by the public sector.
- The agency has stabilized many affected systems, but some services remain partially inaccessible.
- There is currently no official attribution for the attack.
- The agency has assured that there is no indication of a security breach affecting the organization’s systems or any compromise of personal data.
The agency has assured that there is no indication of a security breach affecting the organization’s systems or any compromise of personal data. The agency has also stated that they are working to stabilize the affected systems and restore services as soon as possible.
The attack highlights the vulnerability of Norway’s government digital infrastructure and the potential risks of DDoS attacks on critical services. The agency has also stated that this is the third DDoS attack targeting Digdir recently, which raises concerns about the effectiveness of their security measures.
