HELSINKI, December 8. /TASS/. Hacker groups APT28 and Fancy Bear can be complicit in the cyberattack on the Norwegian parliament in August 2020, the Norwegian Police Security Service claimed Tuesday.
"Our analysis shows that the operation is likely to have been conducted by cyber groups which are named as ATP28 and Fancy Bear in open sources. They are connected to the Russian military intelligence, GRU, and more specifically to its main directorate of special operations," the police message notes.
At the same time, the service underlined that the investigation failed to produce enough data for indictment and, therefore, "the prosecution made the decision to close the investigation."
On September 1, the Norwegian parliament informed that it was targeted by a cyberattack, as a result of which hackers obtained access to emails of several members and staffers of the parliament. According to Marianne Andreassen, chief administrator of the legislative body, "a number of immediate measures" were taken "to thwart the attack." Later, the security service reported that it would investigate whether "any country" was behind the attack on August 24.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide earlier alleged that Russia was behind the parliament hacking.
The Russian embassy then rebuked the accusation, slamming it as a deliberate provocation. The Russian Foreign Ministry, in turn, noted that Norway failed to present any evidence supporting the claim.