Pro-Russian hackers claim Norway cyberattack after Ukraine security deal

Oslo,UPDATED: Aug 26, 2026 17:32 IST

A pro-Russian hacker group has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack that has disrupted several Norwegian government digital services over the past three days. The denial-of-service attack, which began on Monday, targeted systems run by the Norwegian Digitalisation Agency, which oversees digital public services in the country.

The group, Server Killers, said on Telegram on Wednesday that it had declared cyber war on Norway after the country renewed its security cooperation with Ukraine on August 23. Norwegian officials had not commented on the claim by the time of publication.

Are Kvistad, spokesperson for the Norwegian Digitalisation Agency, told The Associated Press that the attack was ongoing. "It's the biggest attack against Digdir solutions that we have ever experienced," he said. The attack involved flooding the agency's systems with traffic to block services, including one that allows citizens to use a single login across multiple public services.

Kvistad said the agency had managed to keep the services running "practically all the time" despite the attack.

The hackers' claim came days after Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, during a visit to Kyiv on Sunday, announced that Norway would provide 85 billion Norwegian crowns (USD 9.2 billion) to Ukraine from next year's state budget for a third consecutive year. Norway and Ukraine also agreed to expand cooperation on drone technology and other forms of modern warfare.

European countries remain on high alert as Russia has stepped up sabotage and other hostile activities across the continent since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Officials have said such attacks are aimed at weakening support for Ukraine, spreading fear and division in European societies, and draining investigative resources.

In 2025, Norwegian authorities said Russian hackers were likely behind suspected sabotage at a dam in the country. In that case, hackers accessed a digital system that remotely controls one of the dam's valves and opened it to increase water flow. Police said a three-minute video showing the dam's control panel, along with a mark identifying a pro-Russian cybercriminal group, was later posted on Telegram.

Last year, Danish authorities blamed Russia for cyberattacks on infrastructure and websites in Denmark in 2024 and 2025. Danish officials said the pro-Russian group Z-Pentest carried out a "destructive attack" on a water utility company in 2024, while another group, NoName057(16), was behind a cyberattack on Danish websites ahead of the 2025 local elections. They said both groups had links to the Russian state.

According to Norwegian media, Server Killers has been linked directly or indirectly to earlier cyberattacks in Norway and other European countries. The latest attack on Norwegian digital services has added to concerns over cyber threats linked to the war in Ukraine and their impact on public systems in Europe.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends