Following the US, Norway Also Condemns Chinese Cyber Attacks

Ine Eriksen Søreide, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs (Photo by Reuters)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Norway has joined major countries including the United States and the European Union (EU) in their offensive against China, after attributing the cyberattack targeting its parliament in March to China.

On the 19th (local time), Ine Eriksen Søreide, Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated, "The cyberattack targeting the parliament in March threatened the email system of our most important democratic institution."

She added, "Investigations by intelligence agencies revealed that the attack was carried out by a group operating from China, and our allies have also confirmed this."

She continued, "We have informed the Chinese embassy today that we cannot tolerate this, and we will respond unfailingly to such intrusions."

Norway's stance came shortly after the White House in the United States issued a joint statement with its allies, attributing various cyberattacks, including the hacking targeting Microsoft's (MS) email and messaging platform 'Exchange' earlier this year, to China.

U.S. President Joe Biden released a statement asserting that the Chinese government hires and protects contracted hackers, with the EU, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and key U.S. allies such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand joining in.

Minister Søreide said, "Together with the EU, NATO, and several allies, Norway has clearly informed China that the attack targeting the parliament originated from China," adding, "We expect China to take further action to prevent malicious cyber activities based on its territory."

Regarding this, the Chinese embassy in Norway stated that it has requested evidence supporting these claims from the Norwegian government.

The Chinese embassy said, "We are willing to cooperate with all relevant parties based on facts and evidence and jointly respond to illegal activities in cyberspace," but also stated, "At the same time, we will strongly oppose groundless accusations and slanders against China."

The embassy further added that it questions whether the moves by Western countries are a "conspired political manipulation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.