Technical Surveillance Threats in Norway

Malaysian student caught spying on the prime minister’s office. Updated Sept 15, 2023.

Office of Prime Minister, Norway

September 10, 2023

It was reported today that a 25-year-old foreign student [update: believed to be Malaysian] has been arrested in Norway on suspicion of espionage, including illegal eavesdropping through various technical devices.

Various reports from AP indicate that the man was arrested on Friday and charged on Sunday with espionage and intelligence operations against Norway.

They caught the suspect allegedly conducting signal surveillance from a rental car near the Norwegian prime minister’s office and the defense ministry.

[He] is accused of “intelligence activity, more specifically signals intelligence by use of electronic devices,” PST spokesman Trond Hugubakken told AFP.

Norwegian broadcaster NRK said the man was a 25-year-old foreigner, and that his rental car had been caught on security cameras at the same time as signals were picked up at the government headquarters, the prime minister’s office and the defence ministry.

Hugubakken said PST had seized “data units and technical equipment” when the man was arrested.

The spokesman said PST was reluctant to disclose details of the case because “one hypothesis we have is that he was not operating alone.”

Update, Sept 11:

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — 

Norwegian intelligence officials said Monday that the case of a 25-year-old unidentified foreign student, who was arrested in Norway on suspicion of illegally eavesdropping by using various technical devices, is “serious and complicated.” The case was shrouded in secrecy.

The man, whose identity and nationality have not been disclosed, was arrested on Friday. A court in Oslo on Sunday ordered that he be held in pre-trial custody for four weeks, on suspicion of espionage and intelligence operations against the NATO-member Nordic country.

In an email to The Associated Press, a prosecutor for Norway’s domestic security agency, known by its acronym PST, said the investigation was in “a critical and initial phase” and would take time.

During the arrest, police seized from the man a number of data-carrying electronic devices. The suspect is a student — though not enrolled in an educational institution in Norway — and has been living in Norway for a relatively short time, Norwegian media said.

The suspect, who authorities say was not operating alone, was banned from receiving letters and visits. According to prosecutor Thomas Blom, the suspect “has not yet wanted to be questioned.”

In previous assessments, the security agency has singled out Russia, China and North Korea as states that pose a significant intelligence threat to Norway, a nation of 5.4 million people.

Update, Sept 15:

From “The Malaysian Insight”

[MALAYSIAN] POLICE have been informed by Norwegian security forces regarding the arrest of a man believed to be a Malaysian in Oslo, Norway on suspicion of being involved in espionage, says Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

He said the police would examine all information received and were ready to cooperate in the investigation.

“I was briefed by the Inspector-General of Police (Razarudin Husain) yesterday afternoon with regard to the background of the case, but we are still waiting for complete information.

“For now, the Norwegian security forces have informed our security forces of the individual’s status, background and certain evidence they have chosen to share with us,” he told the media after attending the 2023 World Day Against Anti Trafficking in Persons celebration in Putrajaya, today.

Saifuddin said the police would use all the necessary resources to help investigate the case as it involved ties with another country and the sensitivity of the matter with regard to espionage or eavesdropping.

On Tuesday (September 12), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Malaysian Embassy in Stockholm confirmed that a man believed to be a Malaysian citizen had been arrested for suspected involvement in espionage in Norway.

Update, 9/22/2023

OSLO (Norway) — A Malaysian student arrested in Oslo earlier this month in possession of electronic listening devices is no longer suspected of spying but may have been involved in economic crime, investigators said on Friday (Sept 22).

According to the unit, the man is believed to have been engaged in wide-reaching fraud with ties to organised crime, possibly with international connections.

At the time of his arrest, the man was believed to have been using an “IMSI-catcher”, a telephone eavesdropping device used for intercepting mobile phone traffic and tracking location data.

Read more:

Norway has had regular concerns about eavesdropping and spying from Russia.

In 2022 the arrested a suspected illegal agent in the Arctic city of Tromsø, the Norwegian security service said on Tuesday, describing him as a rare illegal agent. He had posed as a Brazilian citizen but was believed to be Russian.
Read more:

In 2018 a Russian was held on suspicion of spying at an Oslo IT conference.
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