By Ebad Ahmed
COPENHAGEN (AA) - The Danish Agency for Civil Protection has raised its threat level for cyber espionage in the telecommunications sector from medium to high, the Danish broadcaster DR reported Thursday.
The move follows repeated cyber espionage attempts targeting the European telecommunications sector.
Civil Protection Minister Torsten Schack Pedersen called on the telecommunications industry to sharpen its focus on the threat.
“Russia has become more willing to, for example, use hybrid means such as cyberattacks more aggressively. We must be prepared,” he said, according to DR.
The assessment of the ministry highlights the growing interest from state-backed hackers from other countries as well, further exposing Denmark’s telecommunications infrastructure to potential cyber threats.
Denmark’s Defense Intelligence Service also identified hybrid attacks and sabotage from Russia as key risks in its annual threat report released in December.
In January 2023, a Russian hacking group took credit for cyberattacks on the websites of the Danish central bank and seven private lenders.
An anonymous spokesperson from the hacker group said the attacks were conducted because of Denmark's support for Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia.
"Denmark supports Ukrainian neo-Nazis,” the spokesperson told local media. "That's enough for us to launch an attack on your country's critical infrastructure. The banking sector was selected because it is one of the most important components of this critical infrastructure.”