Experts: Digdir cyberattack could be work of students, not state actors

Norway's Directorate of Digitalization (Digdir) experienced a significant distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack starting Monday, disrupting essential public services. This incident marks the third and largest attack on Digdir's login services this summer, affecting ten services including the critical ID-porten, MinID, Altinn, and E-innsyn. The services were reported to be back in stable operation by Tuesday afternoon.

Professor Audun Jøsang, a cybersecurity expert at the University of Oslo, likened DDoS attacks to a tug-of-war, suggesting that a service's resilience largely depends on the financial investment in protection. "There are no simple tricks to withstand these attacks. One can, of course, spend a lot of money, which will dampen the disruption, but never remove it completely," Jøsang explained.

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There are no simple tricks to withstand these attacks. One can, of course, spend a lot of money, which will dampen the disruption, but never remove it completely.

Security analyst Hans-Petter Fjeld from Defendable noted that even major tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon can face issues during large-scale DDoS attacks. Fjeld cautioned against assuming the attack was state-sponsored, stating, "It absolutely does not have to be state-sponsored; the attack could just as well be carried out by school kids from Rælingen." This perspective suggests that the perpetrators might not necessarily be sophisticated state actors.

Digdir Director Frode Danielsen confirmed that the incident will be evaluated, and the directorate will consider implementing further protective measures. The attack's scale and the ongoing nature of such threats highlight the persistent challenges in maintaining robust cybersecurity for digital public services.

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It absolutely does not have to be state-sponsored; the attack could just as well be carried out by school kids from Rælingen.