A large and sophisticated hacker attack at an Icelandic company has caused the level of uncertainty to be activated for the first time in the telecommunications sector.
In an interview with RÚV, Hafsteinn Baldvinsson, an expert at CERT-IS, called what happend a scattered attack, where a network of infected computers attack one victim.
On their website, CERT-IS certified the attack as a DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attack, which “is a type of cyberattack in which an individual or group directs large amounts of network traffic into a company’s network infrastructure to reduce capacity.”
Such hacker attacks are usually followed by extortion emails, demanding ransom and threatening larger attacks if a certain amount is not paid.
The attack on the Icelandic company is considered large, although thanks to good defenses and procedures, the company’s services did not suffer any damage.
According to CERT-IS, “Such threats are not new, but have been empty in most cases, the perpetrators not following up on them. CERT-IS has received confirmation from external experts that this particular attacker is, however, able to follow up on the threat and it has been confirmed that such a threat has been followed up on.”
As a response, CERT-IS declared the level of uncertainty in the electronic communications sector and holds regular assessment meetings and updates with key parties in the market. The level of uncertainty applies until it is believed that no further attacks will be made on Icelandic companies and institutions.
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