Sweden accuses Russian hackers of attempting a destructive cyberattack on a thermal plant

The government of Sweden has revealed that hackers believed to be linked to Russia attempted to interfere with operations at one of the country’s thermal power facilities last year. Officials said the attempt ultimately failed, but warned that cyber threats targeting critical infrastructure are becoming increasingly aggressive and sophisticated.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Sweden’s minister for civil defence, Carl-Oskar Bohlin, said the attempted intrusion occurred in early 2025. He attributed the activity to actors with “connections to Russian intelligence and security services.”

“Pro-Russian groups that once focused on denial-of-service attacks are now moving toward more destructive cyber operations targeting organisations across Europe,” Bohlin said, according to reports cited by Bloomberg.

Although the government did not identify the specific power plant involved, Bohlin stated that the attack was successfully blocked thanks to an internal protection mechanism built into the system. He added that the incident reflects what he described as increasingly “riskier and more reckless behaviour” from the groups involved.

The attempted breach is part of a broader pattern of cyber activity targeting essential infrastructure, particularly energy and water systems, with the potential to cause real-world disruption to public services.

In previous incidents, Russia has been accused of attempting to destabilise critical systems in other European countries. In December 2025, there were reports of efforts to disrupt portions of Poland’s power grid. Earlier that same year, hackers briefly gained control of a dam in Norway, opening the floodgates and releasing large volumes of water before authorities regained control of the system.

In Lviv, a cyberattack on a municipal energy provider in early January 2024 left hundreds of residential units without heating for two days during freezing conditions. While some evidence suggested possible links to Russia, investigators noted that attribution could not be definitively confirmed.

Looking further back, Russia has also been widely blamed for cyberattacks that caused major disruptions to Ukraine’s power grid in 2015, marking one of the earliest large-scale incidents of its kind.

Swedish officials say the latest attempted attack highlights the evolving nature of cyber threats and underscores the need for stronger defences to protect vital infrastructure.