As a country located in Northern Europe, Finland offers an internationally prominent model for cybersecurity. The country has developed various strategies and policies to strengthen its information technology infrastructure and effectively protect against cyber threats.
Cyber attacks increasingly pose a threat to the national security of states. Many states seek to gain strategic advantage in cyberspace through espionage, information leakage, infrastructure attacks and various cyber operations.
The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (SUPO) has revealed that Russia has been one of the most active perpetrators of intelligence operations targeting Finland, amid heightened tensions following the country’s accession to NATO and the war in Ukraine. On 12 October 2023, SUPO warned of a “significant deterioration of relations with Russia” following a suspected act of sabotage targeting the country’s maritime infrastructure.[1] It was underlined that Russia is pushing the country with various threats, such as cyber attacks and disinformation. “Russia’s espionage attempts against us have increased during the war, especially in the cyber sphere,” said Suvi Alvari, a senior analyst at SUPO.[2]
In June 2023, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö declared that the attacks violated the Vienna Convention. Following the expulsion of several diplomats from Helsinki, Russia appears to have shifted its intelligence gathering focus to online activities. Norway and Sweden have also expelled a number of Russian figures in recent months for alleged intelligence work. Suvi Alvari stated that the attacks will continue: [3]
“It’s clear that Russia is skilled in cyber. That is why we are prepared. We consider it likely that Russia will continue with Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against us. Russia wants to weaken Finland’s image in the eyes of its own people and that is why there is a lot of negative news about us.”
Finland’s NATO membership and its support for Ukraine are among the most important reasons for Russia to increase its intelligence motivation. Finland’s NATO membership was not welcomed by Russia. This led to a hardening of Russia’s attitude towards Finland. It is a well-known fact that the two countries had stable relations before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but today Russia considers Finland as an unfriendly country.
With elections expected to take place in Russia and Finland next spring, security forces will be vigilant against possible interference. The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation has announced that its work is ongoing. Sweden has said that it is experiencing the same situation as its neighbor Finland and that cyber warfare threats from Russia and other actors have increased. Swedish authorities then announced that a submarine telecommunications cable with Estonia had been damaged. Swedish Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said the cause of the incident was unclear. [4]
Russia’s cyber espionage attempts against Finland could have devastating effects on regional security. It is argued that Finland is prepared for cyber-attacks and that Russia is using these attacks to undermine the country’s image. Finland claims that Russia is trying to influence international public opinion through disinformation. In conclusion, cyber-attacks are rapidly deteriorating the security environment in Scandinavia and the Baltic region. If Russia continues these attacks, the states in the region may resort to collective measures.
[1] Alexander Martin, “Finnish İntelligence Agency Warns Russia Treating Finland As A ‘Hostile Country”, The Record News, https://therecord.media/finland-russia-supo-statement-pipeline-undersea-cable, (Erişim Tarihi: 19.10.2023).
[2] Miranda Bryant, “Finland Faces Growing Russian Online Threat, Finnish Security Services Say”, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/18/finland-faces-growing-russian-online-threat-finnish-security-services-say (Erişim Tarihi: 19.10.2023).
[3] Same page.
[4] Niklas Pollard, “Sweden Says Telecom Cable With Estonia Damaged But Operating”, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/sweden-says-telecom-cable-with-estonia-damaged-2023-10-17/ (Erişim Tarihi: 19.10.2023).
