HELSINKI :Nordic utility Fortum faces cyberattacks on a daily basis in Finland and Sweden and has sometimes spotted drones and suspicious individuals near its sites, its CEO told Reuters, adding the company had asked the authorities to investigate.
Security services in Finland and Sweden declined to comment on specific incidents, but both have alleged a pick up in malicious activities by Russia in recent years.
Russia’s foreign ministry or embassy in Helsinki did not immediately reply to a written request for comment.
Finland and Sweden angered eastern neighbour Russia by joining the Western military alliance NATO in a foreign policy U-turn after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“There are different kinds of cyberattack attempts, or cyber security breach attempts, against us daily, and then less frequently, drones and different kinds of suspicious movement around our assets,” Fortum CEO Markus Rauramo said, adding power plants’ satellite connections were disturbed earlier this year.
Fortum has hydro, wind, solar, nuclear and combined heat and power (CHP) plants.
Rauramo added the situation was broadly similar at Fortum’s Swedish assets.
He said Fortum had taken extensive precautions to try to mitigate cyberattacks, including strict access control, private security services, reserve systems, and drills with authorities.
“There has been an uptick in the frequency (of incidents) just as authorities are also reporting. The numbers are increasing, but the impact on our operations is very small,” Fortum’s head of security Jari Stenius said.
Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation KRP told Reuters police had several open investigations on incidents near critical infrastructure, without giving details.
Finland’s Security and Intelligence Service Supo and Finnish police declined to comment on the cyberattacks directly, or who might be behind them. Swedish Intelligence Service Sapo also declined to comment on specific incidents or targets.
RUSSIAN SECURITY THREAT
However, a deterioration of relations between Finland and Russia since
