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Swedish public agencies and companies were hit by electronic espionage in January and February 2009, when unknown attackers sent fake emails with attachments containing malware to selected persons at management level. You can read more about this in our annual publication The Swedish Security Service 2009.
The attackers had selected the recipients from a public register on managerial bodies available on the internet. In those cases where the recipients opened the attachment, malware was installed on their computers without their knowledge, and the attackers were able to steal information or remotely control the infected computers.
The Security Service monitors the development of new malware attack methods, and has found that the opportunity to carry out this type of attack still exists. Our assessment is that Swedish public agencies and companies are constantly at risk from electronic espionage. The aim of the attackers is to steal information, for instance by having the recipients of emails unintentionally install malware on their computers by opening infected documents.
Electronic espionage is one of the areas touched upon in The Swedish Security Service 2009. Here are some of the others:
- Items of public information may become confidential when put together
- Preventive efforts to counter violence-promoting extremism
- Reducing intelligence activities targeting the EU presidency
- Imprisonment for spying on individuals of Uyghur origin
- Security chauffeurs — a new concept for secure transport
- The Swedish Security Service 2009 presents our activities over the past year. It describes our remit and our areas of activity and expertise as well as some recent events. The publication can be downloaded or ordered.
The publication exist as a printed version and can be ordered free of cost from info@securityservice.se.
| Säkerhetspolisen | P.O. Box 12312 | SE-102 28 Stockholm | Phone: +46 10 568 70 00 | Fax: +46 10 568 70 10 | E-mail: securityservice@securityservice.se | The Website |