Denmark to summon russian ambassador over Moscow-linked cyberattacks

The Danish government said on Thursday it would summon the Russian ambassador after accusing Russia of being behind two “destructive and disruptive” cyberattacks targeting water systems and elections in 2024 and last month respectively.

The Danish Defense Intelligence Service (DDIS) alleged on Thursday that Moscow had been responsible for a cyberattack on a Danish water utility in 2024 and a spate of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on Danish websites on the eve of elections last month.

The first was carried out by the Z-Pentest pro-Russian group and the second by the government-linked NoName057, according to the DDIS.

“We are very confident that these are pro-Russian groups linked to the Russian state,” said the director of the DDIS, Thomas Ahrenkiel, according to The Guardian.

The DDIS said in a statement that the groups were being used by Russia as “instruments” in its “hybrid war against the West,” which has also manifested in sabotage attacks, drone incursions and disinformation, among other tactics.

In the attack on a water utility in Køge last year, a Danish seaport, a hacker commanded control of a waterworks and altered the pressure in the pumps, causing three burst pipes.

Amid municipal and regional elections in November this year, the websites of political parties, municipalities, public institutions and a defense company were rendered inaccessible by a cyberattack operation.

“The aim is to create insecurity in the targeted countries and to punish those that support Ukraine,” the DDIS explained.

Denmark’s Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen, described the “completely unacceptable” attacks as “very clear evidence that we are now where the hybrid war we have been talking about is unfortunately taking place.”

“It once again puts the spotlight on the situation we find ourselves in in Europe,” Lund Poulsen added.

Denmark’s Minister for Resilience and Preparedness, Torsten Schack Pederson, said the attacks had limited scope but brought Denmark’s vulnerabilities to the fore.

“This shows there are forces capable of bringing essential services in our society to a halt,” he said.

Denmark has been a close ally of Ukraine throughout the full-scale invasion and has contended with numerous “hybrid” attacks linked to Russia.

In September, unidentified drones flew over several Danish military sites, including its biggest base. Drones also flew over several airports on various occasions, causing shutdowns in Copenhagen and elsewhere.

In response, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, called for a “strong answer” to Russian-led sabotage and incursions, asserting that Europe is facing the “most difficult and dangerous situation” since World War II.

This month, Danish and Ukrainian officials marked the beginning of construction of a facility to supply rocket fuel to Ukraine.