Expert on the attack: "They want to create unrest"

Swish

Cyber ​​expert on the attack: "Out to create unrest"

Agnès Ericson

Updated 00.15 | Published 2025-04-23 23.38

Bank-id went down on Wednesday evening.

Bank-id was down for several hours.

The cause was a serious overload attack.

- Those who do this are often looking for attention, says cyber threat expert Mattias Wåhlén.

Swish did not work.

The bank could not be logged in.

All services that require logging in with Bank-id were down due to a severe overload attack, also called a DdoS attack.

The cyber threat expert believes that it is a need for attention that lies behind such attacks.

– They kind of want to create headlines and then you want to hit with something that is noticeable, says Mattias Wåhlén, who works at Truesec.

Then financial systems like Bank-id are the perfect victim.

Mattias Wåhlén. Photo: Magnus Hjalmarson Neideman/Svd/TT / Svenska Dagbladet

"Temporary disruption"

How long such attacks last varies – it can be anything from half an hour to several hours.

– And as soon as you stop the attack, everything works again. So it is a very temporary disruption, says Wåhlén.

He says that similar overload attacks are relatively harmless.

– Nothing is damaged on the inside. Nothing dangerous has happened, you just can't get through, says Wåhlén.

Who is behind tonight's attack is still unclear. Bank-id itself has said that an external party is behind it. Shortly after midnight, all services worked as usual again.
          
           Users could not access banks or services such as Swish.

Hybrid warfare against Sweden

– Often, it is groups that have for one reason or another political reasons that do it as part of some kind of hybrid warfare against Sweden or that want to disrupt in various ways, he says.

Attacks against banking systems are usually made up of groups with large resources that want to create concern and fear.

Russia has such resources, says Wåhlén.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, D-dose attacks have increased against Western Europe, he says.

Similar attacks have been directed several times against Swedish banks or financial systems, which affects the everyday lives of ordinary people.

– They are looking to create concern, says Mattias Wåhlén.

Bank-id tells Aftonbladet that there is no risk to their users.

– The technology is secured and the users' privacy continues to be protected, says Charlotte Pataky, press officer at Bank-id.