Finland raised the alarm. "Beware of Russia"
The Finnish intelligence claims that since Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the number of attempts at internet espionage in Finland has increased. Supo, the Finnish security and intelligence service, makes no secret of the fact that the country is facing various threats from Russia.
5:30 PM EDT, October 18, 2023
Russia is the active perpetrator of espionage operations aimed at Finland. The actions have intensified since Helsinki joined NATO, but they were already underway at the outbreak of war in Ukraine, which coincides with the country's efforts to ratify, which took place in April.
- During the war, the number of espionage attempts by Russia against us increased - Suvi Alvari, a senior analyst at Supo, told The Guardian.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Helsinki has been closely watching Russia's activities in their country. In June, the Finnish president announced that the country was expelling nine diplomats from the Russian embassy, considering their activities to be in contradiction with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
According to Suvi Alvri, before February 2022, Russia and Finland, neighboring countries, had "functional relations". However, relations have now deteriorated.
- Russia wants to weaken Finland's image in the eyes of its society, and therefore many negative reports about us appear - stated a representative of the Finnish intelligence services.
Finland in danger: Beware of Russia
Analyses concerning Russia by the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service appear shortly after suspicions of an act of sabotage aimed at the country's maritime infrastructure. Last week, a submarine telecommunications cable and gas pipeline near the territory of Finland and Estonia were damaged.
The Finnish authorities have not identified the perpetrators of the incident. The Office of the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, has only informed that the authorities believe that the damage likely occurred as a result of "external actions".
As reported by the Finnish newspaper "Iltalehti", the intelligence agency warns that Finnish maritime infrastructure remains "more vulnerable than land-based installations". - Russian influence operations against Finland are currently mainly aimed at creating a deterrent effect. The energy sector is one of the examples of an effective target in this regard, even if no actual devastating impact is expected - said Suvi Alvari.
Sauli Pahlman, deputy director general of the Finnish National Cybersecurity Center, said that he does not suspect that an incident could occur in Finland that would be a blatant, open hostile attack on society. There are no fears that residents will be cut off from something crucial in daily functioning, such as food, electricity, or water. However, the services tirelessly monitor the network to eliminate threats.
