A group of hackers with pro-Russian affiliations has asserted responsibility for a cyberattack that has disrupted various Norwegian government digital services for the past three days. The incident began on Monday, according to Are Kvistad, spokesperson for the Norwegian Digitalization Agency (Digdir), which is tasked with enhancing the digitalization of public services in Norway.
Impact and Response
Kvistad described the attack as the most significant one Digdir has ever encountered. The hackers employed denial-of-service tactics, inundating the agency with traffic to cripple services, including a key system allowing citizens a unified login for multiple public services. Despite these challenges, Kvistad assured that the agency maintained service availability almost continuously throughout the attack.
On Wednesday, the hacker group known as Server Killers declared on Telegram that they were responsible for the cyber assault, citing Norway’s renewed security partnership with Ukraine as the catalyst for their actions. This announcement was widely covered by Norwegian media.
Political Context and Reactions
The attack coincides with Norway’s commitment to provide substantial financial support to Ukraine, as announced by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre during a recent visit to Kyiv. Norway plans to allocate 85 billion Norwegian crowns (approximately 9.2 billion US dollars) to Ukraine in the upcoming state budget, marking the third consecutive year of such aid. Additionally, Norway and Ukraine are set to enhance cooperation in drone technology and other modern military capabilities.
At the time of publication, Norwegian authorities had yet to formally respond to the hackers’ claims. The situation underscores a heightened state of alert across Europe, as Russian cyber activities have escalated since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Wider European Cyber Threats
In recent years, European nations have faced numerous cyber threats linked to Russian actors. In 2025, Norwegian officials suspected Russian hackers were involved in a sabotage incident at a dam, manipulating its remote systems to increase water flow. Similar cyber incidents have been reported in Denmark, where authorities attributed infrastructure attacks to pro-Russian groups in 2024 and 2025.
The ongoing cyber threats are perceived as efforts to destabilize European societies, undermine support for Ukraine, and exhaust investigative resources. Such incidents highlight the need for robust cybersecurity measures and international cooperation to counteract these malicious activities.
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