Norwegian data breach: 148,000 phones compromised by hackers
Russian hackers allegedly compromised data from mobile phones belonging to 148,000 Norwegians. The data protection authority described the scale of the event as "potentially enormous."
The stolen data is said to include information about the location and movement of mobile phone users. Norwegian television NRK refers to an announcement on a Russian hacker forum. The post's authors claim that the acquired information can be linked to specific subscribers.
Cited by NRK television, Tobias Judin from the Norwegian data protection authority Datatilsynet admitted that the incident could have serious consequences.
Potentially, the scale of the theft could be enormous. The data acquired may contain sensitive information that could be used to influence and manipulate those it concerns, he told Norwegian television journalists.
The location data was reportedly stolen from the Norwegian-American company Gravy Analytics. It was collected from apps installed on mobile devices. In 2024, the American Federal Trade Commission accused the company of illegally trading in mobile phone user data, which included information about personal relationships, pregnancies, political views, and the religious beliefs of mobile device users.
In December, Reuters reported that Gravy Analytics reached an agreement with the Joe Biden administration, prohibiting the company from collecting location data.
Neither NRK journalists nor Reuters received any comment from Gravy Analytics regarding the disclosed data theft.
