A pro-Russian hacker group attacked the websites of Danish political parties ahead of local elections, temporarily taking them offline, the Danish Social Security Agency reported, as reported by The Record.
Among the affected sites were the Conservative Party, the Red-Green Alliance, the Moderates, and the ruling Social Democrats. The attacks, carried out as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) operations, flooded servers with traffic, disrupting their functionality. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the group NoName057(16), known for its DDoS campaigns.
Authorities emphasized that the cyberattacks did not disrupt the voting process, which is conducted entirely manually. The situation was monitored in coordination with military intelligence, and local officials noted that such DDoS attacks are “part of the usual pattern” in Denmark, as websites are often targeted by groups seeking attention rather than strategic gain. Among the affected was the English-language newspaper The Copenhagen Post, whose servers were down for several hours; prior intelligence warnings helped prevent any data compromise.
In the week leading up to the elections, there was a spike in cyber incidents targeting government and private organization websites, many attributed to pro-Russian hackers. Earlier this month, Danish government and defense company websites were briefly taken offline by DDoS attacks, likely originating from Russia.
NoName057(16) emerged shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and specializes in short-term DDoS attacks using volunteers. The group is active across Europe, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Italy. In July, European and U.S. law enforcement seized over 100 servers allegedly used by the group, disrupting key parts of its infrastructure. German investigators also issued six arrest warrants for Russian nationals likely linked to the group’s leadership.
Despite authorities’ actions, NoName057(16) continues to announce new targets daily on its X and Telegram channels, highlighting that cyberattacks ahead of elections in Europe remain a persistent threat.
