Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist takes the attack seriously: "Very dangerous"

2021-07-03T17:20:38.205Z

A notorious Russian hacker group has knocked out Coop in large parts of Sweden. Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist (S) says that he takes the situation seriously and that companies must be prepared to be exposed to new attacks. - In another security policy situation, it may be state actors who attack us in this area to extinguish society and create chaos, Hultqvist tells SVT Nyheter.

SVT Nyheter has in several articles told about the hacker attack that lowered Coop's stores in Sweden.

The attack was not directed at Coop itself, but at the American software company Kaseya, which in turn supplied software to Coop's supplier Visma Esscom.

SJ and Apoteket Hjärtat have also been affected.

According to Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist, the attack shows the vulnerability of society.

- It is very dangerous because it affects people's everyday lives.

And it covers sectors such as food security and other basic livelihood issues for the way society works.

Today we are very dependent on this type of technology and of course it is the case that an antagonist, regardless of what background this is, is prepared to use this type of method, says Peter Hultqvist.

He also emphasizes the importance of continuously working with IT security.

- Criminal organizations, which is the case in this case, and state actors are constantly developing their systems to access any opponents and take advantage of the situation.

This is just one example of what, on a larger scale, could end up in a sharp security policy situation.

"Must think through the consequences"

Today, many companies outsource their IT services, which can make it more difficult for Sweden to protect companies.

- It is clear that this is a problem.

It is also the case that every company and every large business chain must think through the consequences of outsourcing.

This also shows the importance of trying to develop international collaboration in this context, says Hultqvist.

- But basically, every company, every nation and every authority is responsible for its own work.

Is cybersecurity a priority issue for the government?

- We have worked with this since we took office seven years ago and within the state authority sphere, we are constantly working to develop our own IT security.

But it is also the case that, together with the business community, IT security is being developed and that the state here is an active party to help and develop security, but also to stimulate it so that it really works with these issues.

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Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist takes the attack seriously: "Very dangerous"

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