Police find APT31´s link to Parliament espionage

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday confirmed the connection of Chinese APT31 hacking group in the espionage of Finnish parliament's information systems in 2020–2021, said NBI in a press release.

On 18 March 2021, the NBI published a press release on a criminal investigation into the hacking of Parliament's information systems in 2020–2021. The suspected offences under investigation have been aggravated espionage, aggravated unlawful access to an information system, and aggravated violation of the secrecy of communications.

The police recorded a report of the incident in 2020. It is suspected that the offences were committed between autumn 2020 and early 2021.

The police have previously informed that they investigate the hacking group APT31's connections with the incident. These connections have now been confirmed by the investigation, and the police have also identified one suspect.

“The criminal investigation has been demanding and time-consuming because it has involved challenging investigations into a complex criminal infrastructure, “said Aku Limnéll, Head of Investigation, also Detective Chief Inspector of the NBI.

The criminal investigation has involved demanding investigations and analyses, and international exchange of information.

The NBI has worked in close cooperation with international actors and the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service.