Norway has blamed Russia for a cyber attack on the email system in the Norwegian parliament that took place this summer. Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide said it was a serious incident affecting the country's "most important democratic institution."
“Based on the information the Government has, it is our view that Russia is responsible for these activities,” Ine Eriksen Soreide said in a statement without providing any evidence to support the claim.
The Minister said that Norway's security and intelligence services were "co-operating closely to deal with this matter at the national level."
Meanwhile, the Russia’s embassy in Oslo has denied accusations, calling them unsubstantiated, “unacceptable” and “destructive for bilateral relations.”
At the end of August, the Storting (Norwegian parliament) revealed that its email systems had been hacked. As the result of the attack, hackers were able to access emails and data of a small number of parliamentary representatives and employees.
Stortinget director Marianne Andreassen confirmed that an investigation into the incident was ongoing, for this reason, she did not provide any information regarding possible perpetrators. The Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcaster NRK reported at the time that the cyber attack affected several members and staff of Norway's main opposition Labour Party.