Latest news with #SwedishSecurityService
Euractiv
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Euractiv
Swedish PM's security jeopardised by bodyguards' fitness app data
In a major breach of security, members of Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's personal protection team have openly monitored their activity using popular fitness tracking app Strava, Swedish media revealed on Tuesday. Swedish Security Service (Säpo) bodyguards inadvertently exposed sensitive information through the fitness tracking app Strava on at least 35 accounts, allowing users to trace Kristersson's movements, residence, jogging routes – even his running pace, Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter reported. Seven Säpo agents responsible for Kristersson's protection were found to have left their activity logs public, which allowed the Swedish daily to map high-level officials' past locations. The exposed data not only concerns current PM Kristersson but also includes information related to former Prime Ministers Magdalena Andersson and Stefan Löfven, the royal family, and far-right Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson. Following the revelations, the Strava profiles in question were either locked or taken offline. The Swedish Security Service said it was going to review its procedures. "We are taking action to ensure that protocols are followed,' said Carolina Björnsdotter Paasikivi, head of Säpo's security division. "I can't go into internal measures, but steps are being taken to prevent this from happening again." No direct threat related to this leak has been reported so far. In October 2024, Le Monde revealed that French President Emmanuel Macron, the then US President Joe Biden, and Russia's Vladimir Putin faced similar issues as their bodyguards recorded their runs on the fitness application. Strava counts more than 150 million users from 185 countries, according to the platform's website. Claudie Moreau contributed to this reporting. (vib)
Local Sweden
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Swedish security police lowers terror threat level from four to three
Sweden's intelligence service said on Friday it was lowering its terror alert level from "high threat" to "elevated threat", saying the risk of an attack had subsided. Advertisement The Swedish Security Service (Säpo) raised the level in August 2023 to "high threat" ‒ the fourth level on a scale of five ‒ after angry reactions to a series of protests involving desecrations of the Quran made the country a "prioritised target". "Propaganda against Sweden has subsided and Sweden is not specifically mentioned as a target," Fredrik Hallström, head of operations at the Swedish Security Service, told a press conference. "We do not see the same intense flow of attack threats directed at Sweden," he added. Säpo said it now considered the terror alert level to be at "elevated threat" ‒ the third level on its five-point scale. Hallström cautioned that with "an elevated threat, there is room for a terrorist attack to occur". A series of Quran burnings across the country ‒ most notably by Iraqi Christian Salwan Momika ‒ in the summer of 2023 sparked outrage in the Muslim world. It strained relations between Sweden and several Middle Eastern countries, and Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice in July 2023, starting fires within the compound on the second occasion. Advertisement Momika ended up facing charges of inciting ethnic hatred, but in January of this year he was fatally shot in an apartment just hours before the court was due to deliver its ruling. His co-protester Salwan Najem, also of Iraqi origin, was ultimately found guilty of inciting ethnic hatred during four Quran burnings in 2023. Despite the lowered threat level, Charlotte von Essen, head of Säpo, stressed that "Sweden is in a serious security situation". "The worst in many years," von Essen told reporters. The Säpo chief pointed to the fact that the war in Ukraine was still ongoing. "Foreign powers ‒ and Russia in particular ‒ are carrying out extensive security-threatening activities in and against Sweden," she said.
RTÉ News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Swedish diplomat suspected of spying found dead
A Swedish diplomat arrested over the weekend in Stockholm on charges of spying and released days later has been found dead, media reported, with the foreign ministry confirming an employee had died. On Monday, the Swedish Security Service (Sapo) announced the arrest, but gave no details about the case or the suspect's identity. The following day, broadcaster SVT said the man arrested was a top diplomat. On Wednesday, prosecutors released him from custody but said that he was still a suspect. "We regret to confirm that a member of the foreign service has died. Out of consideration for the next of kin, we will not go into further details," the foreign ministry said in a statement today. Meanwhile, Newspaper Expressen reported that the man who had been found dead overnight was the one who had been detained on suspicion of spying. Anton Strand, the suspect's lawyer, said this week that his client denied the allegations against him and maintained "that he has done nothing wrong". Mr Strand also said his client had gone to a hospital after being released on Wednesday and reported police for using excessive force during his arrest, but did not provide details about the extent of the injuries. SVT also reported this week that Sapo was investigating whether the case was connected to a scandal that hit Swedish national security adviser Tobias Thyberg. He resigned within hours of his 8 May appointment after "sensitive" photos of him from dating app Grindr were sent anonymously to media and the government. SVT, which has not specified its sources, said the diplomat arrested was not Mr Thyberg, who served as Sweden's ambassador to Ukraine and Afghanistan among other positions over a 24-year career.
Local Sweden
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Swedish diplomat suspected of espionage released from custody
A suspected spy identified in Swedish media as a high-ranking diplomat has been released from custody but remains a suspect. Advertisement The Swedish Security Service (Säpo) announced the arrest in the capital on Monday, but gave no details about the case or the suspect's identity. "I believe there is no longer any reason for the person to remain in custody," chief prosecutor Per Lindqvist said in a statement on Tuesday. "The suspicions against the person have not been dismissed and the preliminary investigation is continuing," he said. Public broadcaster SVT has reported the case is connected to a scandal that hit Swedish national security advisor Tobias Thyberg last week. He resigned within hours of his May 8th appointment after "sensitive" photos of him from dating app Grindr were sent anonymously to media and the government. Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said last week the government was investigating who sent them. "It's important to know who has something to gain from this," he told the newspaper Dagens Nyheter. SVT, which has not specified its sources, said the diplomat under arrest was not Thyberg, who served as Sweden's ambassador to Ukraine and Afghanistan among other positions over a 24-year career. Thyberg himself is not suspected of any criminal offence.
Local Sweden
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Swedish security police arrest person in Stockholm for espionage
Swedish intelligence said Monday it had arrested one person suspected of spying in the capital, declining to give any more details. Advertisement "An operation was carried out the other day in the Stockholm area, after which one person is under arrest," Johan Wikström, spokesman for the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) told AFP, adding it had opened an "espionage" case. Wikström said the operation had "proceeded calmly," but declined to disclose the nationality or gender of the suspect, or any other details. Sweden has in recent years seen several high-profile spying cases. In January 2023, a former Swedish intelligence officer was handed a life sentence for spying for Russia. And in September of the same year, a Russian-Swedish national went on trial accused of passing Western technology to Russia's military. A Stockholm court found he had exported the material but ruled his actions did not amount to intelligence gathering. Advertisement In February 2024, the Swedish Agency for Support for Faith Communities cut funding to the Russian Orthodox Church in Sweden, after Säpo warned that it believed the church was being used for intelligence activities. In its annual assessment, published in March, Säpo spotlighted Russia, China and Iran as the primary actors directing intelligence activities targeting the Nordic country.
