All of Norway’s government ministers, several thousand state employees, and even the royal family itself have been under illegal surveillance by the country’s Defence Security Services for quite some time. Although the defence agency is responsible for monitoring information security in Norway, they appear to have been doing it illegally.
The Norway Post reports that the National Bureau of Crime Investigation (KRIPOS) is now investigating the issue after the Minister of Defence brought the actions of the agency to the attention of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg several weeks ago. Stoltenberg told the Norway Post he was glad the case was being investigated, and hopes the police can get to the bottom of things.
The Security Service’s role is to monitor all data security within the Defence Forces, as well as the information that comes out of the Prime Minister’s office to ensure that no sensitive information gets into the wrong hands. But it seems they have overstepped their bounds when it was revealed they were also keeping tabs on King Harald and the royal family.
The case appears to have reached gigantic proportions due to the sheer number of government employees being monitored. The question now is whether the surveillance was authorised by existing Parliament regulations. Several politicians and legal experts are calling for a complete review of Norway’s internal surveillance policy.