Kombit shuts Denmark’s national school communication platform

Denmark’s municipal IT company Kombit said it had taken several services offline, including the national school communication platform, Reuters reported on October 23. The shutdown cuts off access to that platform during a wider response to critical software flaws.

Governments and companies worldwide, including in Denmark, took websites offline that week after critical flaws in a widely used programming language triggered millions of hacking attempts, Reuters reported. That figure counts attempted attacks worldwide, not successful breaches or attacks on Kombit alone. Taking services offline does not itself establish that attackers compromised them.

The programming language and specific flaws involved, the number of users affected and the timetable for restoring access remain unclear.

Denmark’s dependence on digital services

Denmark is among the world’s most digitalised countries, with high confidence in its digital public services, Reuters reported. Utilities, healthcare and financial services all rely heavily on digital infrastructure. Resilience and Preparedness Minister Lisbeth Bech-Nielsen said the country’s early embrace of digital systems had brought major benefits but also increased its exposure to cyber threats.

Bech-Nielsen said even attacks causing limited disruption could weaken trust in public authorities. She called for more investment in digital infrastructure and a rethink of how much critical equipment should be connected to the internet.