Sweden blames Iran for cyberattacks after the Quran-burning demonstrations in 2023, which deeply strained relations between the Nordic country and the Muslim world and raised concerns of a possible terrorist attack in the country.
Iran's regime incited Islamist protests in Sweden
Swedish authorities claim the Islamic Revolutionary Guard is responsible for a hacking campaign to spread hate messages https://t.co/7FzQaWwYZb— VOZ (@Voz_US) September 27, 2024
The Swedish security agency Sapo accused Iranian intelligence of a data breach in the summer of 2023, which involved hacking into a text messaging service to send thousands of text messages to Swedes calling for "revenge against Quran-burners" after anti-Islam activists set fire to copies of the Quran in Sweden.
In a statement released last September 24th, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) hacked into an SMS operator the previous year and sent 15,000 texts calling for retaliation against Sweden for the Quran-burning protests in the country.
“[A] cyber group acted on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to carry out an influence campaign,” Sapo said in a statement. “The purpose was, among other things, to paint the image of Sweden as an Islamophobic country and create division in society.”
Because Sweden allowed a Quran burning, Sunni Muslims have declared that Sweden will face "far more consequences" than France.
They're literally competing to see who can do the most damage to the countries that invited them in.
Can't say we didn't warn you. https://t.co/JKRKeX3IGr— Dr. David Wood (@Acts17David) July 6, 2023
Sweden’s national public television broadcaster SVT published a photo of a text message that was sent out, saying “those who desecrated the Quran must have their work covered in ashes” and even calling Swedish people “demons.”
A preliminary investigation by Swedish prosecutors found that the Anzu group, a team of hackers within the IRGC, reportedly infiltrated the text messaging service of a Swedish telecommunications company, taking over passwords, usernames, and other sensitive data on July 2023 before sending the text messages to private individuals in August.
Sapo’s operational manager, Fredrik Hallstrom, said that the text messages had partially succeeded in stoking more fears over the threat against Sweden. Following the Quran burnings that even saw its embassy in Iraq sieged and burned by angry protesters, Sweden raised its terrorism alert levels.
Hundreds of islamists stormed Sweden’s embassy in Baghdad, Iraq and burned it down yesterday after another Quran was burnt in Sweden.
pic.twitter.com/NJMLNGBMzG— Ashlea Simon (@AshleaSimonBF) July 20, 2023
Hallstrom accused “foreign powers” in a statement last September 24th of seeking to “exploit vulnerabilities” and said they were “now acting more and more aggressively, and this is a development that is likely to escalate.”
Although Hallstrom did not name any country, this is not the first time Sweden has accused Iran of carrying out hostile activities in its territory. Last May, Sapo accused Iran of using criminal networks in Sweden to carry out violent actions against other states, groups, or individuals that Iran considered a threat, notably Israeli or Jewish activities. The agency identified Iran, along with Russia and China, as posing the greatest security threats to Sweden.
In a statement, Sweden’s justice minister Gunnar Strommer said that it was extremely serious that a state actor such as Iran was aiming to "destabilize Sweden or increase polarization in our country.”
This is actual terrorism in the name of freedom of speech.
— خرم شہزاد (@khuram56) June 29, 2023
Senior prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said that while Swedish prosecutors could identify the identities of the Iranian hackers involved in the text messaging campaign, they shelved the investigations since they believed they were unlikely to be extradited to Sweden to be brought to justice.
“Since the actors are acting for a foreign power, in this case, Iran, we make the assessment that the conditions for prosecution abroad or extradition to Sweden are lacking for the persons suspected of being behind the breach,” Ljungqvist said.
However, Ljungqvist added that it “does not mean that the suspected hackers have been completely written off,” and the inquiry could still be reopened.
