Anundsen: – Too easy to extract information from Norway

Oslo: Justice Minister Anders Anundsen.Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB scanpix

Justice Minister Anders Anundsen thinks that Norwegians, Norwegian companies and public bodies are extremely bad at protecting themselves against foreign espionage. – We need to  sharpen up, he says.

When the PST threat assessment was submitted Tuesday,  the agency firm  emphasised that espionage and other   intelligence activities of foreign governments in Norway increases. The threat from Russia was given particular emphasis..

Justice Minister Anders Anundsen told the newspaper Dagbladet that espionage and other intelligence business is not something that went away when the Cold War ended and believes Norwegians have to get better at protecting themselves.

– This is about you and me, small businesses, large enterprises and government agencies. We are extremely reluctant to protect our own information. We must simply sharpen  up. It’s too easy to extract information from us, he says.

One of the major goals of Russian intelligence activity, according to PST, is to influence Norwegian politics. Additionally, the Norwegian defense, the Norwegian oil industry are reported to be important targets of the foreign monitoring.

– This is one of the biggest challenges we face in the future. The  intelligence activity is not just run by nations but also by criminals and others. In general, we have become far too easy targets, , the   minister of justice said to Dagbladet.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today