Finland’s NBI investigates wave of cyber attacks on banks | Yle news

Nordea Bank in particular was hit by several distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks in the fall.

Finland’s National Investigation Office has launched a preliminary investigation into a series of cyberattacks on the country’s financial sector.

Finnish banks have been the target of cyberattacks in recent months. Nordea Bank in particular was hit by several distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks in the fall.

The bank had recurring problems with its services due to DDoS attacks and technical upgrades.

DDoS attacks intentionally flood a website with traffic or request to send information that causes the website to crash.

The NBI is investigating the case as a serious telecommunications interference operation.

According to a related press release, the law enforcement agency said it initiated the investigation on its own initiative.

The press release stated that the NBI discussed the matter with the prosecution due to the nature of the alleged crime.

The lead investigator on the case, Detective Inspector Mark Saariosaid police would not comment further on the investigation, the parties involved, possible suspects or the timeline of the investigation.

Preliminary investigations of this type generally require cooperation with various authorities in Finland and abroad, the NBI said.

FIN-FSA probe

Earlier this month, the Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA) called for an investigation into Nordea’s problems.

On Friday, the FIN-FSA reported the matter to the Parliamentary Banking Supervisory Board.

The Chairman of the Council, Antti Lindtman (SDP) described the scale, intensity and duration of the cyber attacks on Nordea as unprecedented.

He said the agency’s report made it clear that the perpetrator of the attacks was organized and very well equipped.

While a number of other banks have been hit by cyberattacks recently, Nordea has been the hardest hit. However, according to Lindtman, the FIN-FSA did not report any data security deficiencies at Nordea.

Lindtman said he believed the attacker specifically targeted Nordea.

Given the scale and intensity of the attacks, “it is not possible to carry out something like this with very limited resources,” he said.

He said those capable of operating on such a large scale included state governments.