Swedish state broadcaster SVT has been hit by a series of major denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, beginning on Sunday evening and again on Monday morning, disrupting its digital services. On Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, another even more expansive attack occurred.
“Not only does it have a magnitude that we haven’t had before, but also its length,” says Adde Granberg, technical director at SVT. “It’s not like it’s a boyish thing against SVT, but rather something bigger that wants to create a feeling of ‘uncontrol’ directed at Sweden.”
Måns Jonasson, expert at the Internet Foundation, agrees. “The purpose could be either to cause chaos or to test Sweden’s preparedness,” he said.
On Tuesday, the Swedish Public Employment Service also experienced website disruptions. It is still unclear whether the incidents are connected and who is responsible, but the traffic appears to originate from multiple countries in a coordinated attack. The attacks are under investigation by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency MSB.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters that the cyber attacks against SVT are not unique. Banks and Bank–ID—a secure electronic identification system used in Sweden for verifying identity and signing documents online—have also been affected. “We are exposed to enormously extensive cyber attacks all the time,” Kristersson said.
He did not want to point fingers at any specific country but noted that Swedish security services Säpo have previously identified Russia, China, and Iran as systematically involved in such activities.In a written comment to SVT, Säpo said they have “long pointed out that foreign powers are constantly looking for vulnerabilities to obtain information or conduct security-threatening activities. Among other things, through cyberattacks.” A NATO official commenting to the state broadcaster said the alliance takes such threats against member nations “very seriously.”
