Norwegian banks struck by hacker attack

Ever once in a while a large company or even country report some large cyber attack. This week it was Norway's turn to call it in. A bunch of financial institutions and a few top banks were simultaneously hacked.

The attack took place earlier this week and it was signaled by eight large companies. Among those hacked were Danske Bank, Norges Bank, Telenor, DNB, Sparebank 1 and two insurance companies Gjensidige and Storebrand. The websites of these companies and online payment systems were down almost a day.

“The extent of the attack is not the greatest we have ever seen, but it is the first time that such an attack has hit so many central agencies in the financial sector in Norway. Several sector are affected, but for now we can not say if these were random targets or not,” said Sverre Olesen.

Security experts in Norway believe the attack came from a group of hackers from outside the country. It is believed that the cyber criminals looked to control website traffic on the sites of these financial institutions. “Anonymous Norway” a group of activists claim to be behind the attack.