An Iranian hacker group acted on behalf of the Iranian state, according to the Security Police, when it hacked into a Swedish SMS service last summer and sent thousands of messages with calls for revenge against Koran burners.
This was part of an influence campaign against Sweden.
It is very serious when a state actor – in this case Iran – can be linked to an operation that has aimed to destabilize, or increase divisions in, Sweden, says Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M).
On Tuesday evening, Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) announced that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has summoned Iran's chargé d'affairs in Stockholm "to emphasize how seriously we view what has happened".
Gross Data Breach
The incident was investigated as gross data breach and the purpose was to increase conflicts between groups in society, according to the prosecution chamber. In April, the preliminary investigation was dropped, as it was deemed impossible to hold anyone accountable for the suspected crimes.
But the incident should not be seen as closed, according to Strömmer. It is still possible, for example, to revive the preliminary investigation at a later time.
But it is also a matter between countries, says Strömmer.
The Security Police assess that Iran is one of the countries that pose the greatest threat to Sweden, among other things through the spread of disinformation.
This is a reminder that we have a serious security situation in Sweden and a number of state actors that in various ways promote their interests against Sweden, says the Minister of Justice.
Iran Denies
Every open society has vulnerabilities that we must work with continuously. We must move forward and make our protection against this type of action even more robust, continues Strömmer.
Within his own area of responsibility, he has, among other things, increased allocations to the Security Police.
In a comment to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, Iran's ambassador in Stockholm dismisses the allegations as "baseless" claims that "poison" the countries' relations, reports AFP.
