Although she lives a few miles from Skien, the village has been without internet and mobile phone coverage for six weeks.
This is the only contact I have with the outside world, says Tove Gustafsen Thejiesen, picking up the phone on the old land line.
The only connection: The land line is the only connection that Toff Gustafsen Thegessen has to the outside world.
Photo: BO LILLEDAL ANDERSEN / NRK
The reason may be the war in Ukraine.
In conjunction with Putin’s invasion, the satellite connection that provided broadband and Wi-Fi in Thygesen’s house disappeared.
– I find it frustrating. Thygesen says, we lost the network because of the war.
attacking modem
At the start of the invasion, Viasat suddenly had problems with services across Europe, says Martin Gundersen, technology journalist at NRKbeta.
The cyber attack disrupted broadband in many European countries, including Ukraine.
Many Norwegian companies have also joined Hit after the satellite got into trouble.
Vyasat previously confirmed that the outages extended to nearly the entire KA-SAT network, according to today’s work.
Many technical evidence now points to the fact that it was the Russian authorities who were behind this, and that they attacked the modems in their homes, says Gundersen.
Be common: It’s common for computer attacks from conflict to spread to the entire world, says Martin Gundersen, technology journalist at NRKbeta.
Photo: Marius Arnesen
It’s called a computer attack where you delete the contents of these modems and render them useless without repairing them or getting an entirely new copy, he explains.
became popular
Independent experts believe that the Ukrainian authorities used much of this equipment in their war, says Gundersen.
He notes that it is believed that the Russian military wanted to eliminate this to prevent Ukraine from being effective, such as by avoiding drone attacks or communicating militarily.
– It is difficult to protect against this type of attack because it affects the services we use, and unfortunately it has become very common. It is common for computer attacks from conflict to spread to the entire world, says Gundersen.
NRK has repeatedly tried to get the hang of Viasat.
On March 30, the company replied in an email that the inquiry had been sent to the appropriate person, but since then NRK has received no response to the emails.
difficult in 2022
The suspected Russian cyber attack hit Europe hard.
A month later, some customers are still without a broadband connection, according to a report by Space intel.
The national communications authority, Nkom EkomCERT, followed up on the cyberattack that hit the Viasat KA-SAT.
Nkom’s chief engineer, Ole Kristoffer Dybvik Apeland, notes that there has recently been more information about how the attack was carried out, and that Viasat confirmed that the attack was targeting satellite modems used in the private market.
Viasat points out in a statement that the most effective way to restore customers’ access to the satellite Internet is to send replacement modems.
– They are already in the process of dispatching to distributors, and we are in dialogue with the affected suppliers, Deepvik points out.
In Luksefjell in Skien, the cyber attack resulted in children getting longer school days.
There are assignments in school and you have to be in a place where there is a network to be able to deliver them, says Gustafsen.
Framed by War: Tov Gustafsen Thijsen watches the war in Ukraine on TV at home in his living room. The invasion caused her and others in the village to lose contact opportunities.
Photo: BO LILLEDAL ANDERSEN / NRK
A month ago, her husband, Ronar, passed away. The practicalities of dying also became more difficult without a net.
Most forms must be submitted online, and there are deadlines. I don’t have a chance to do that. She says it is an extra burden when she bears the other burden of losing a husband.
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