Safety|According to an expert from the Security of Supply Center, Russian involvement in the burglaries cannot be ruled out.
In June is reported about several burglaries targeting water supply facilities and their attempts. At least some of it has happened in May–June.
In this article, we compiled what is currently known about the cases and what questions are still open.
Where have there been burglaries or attempted burglaries?
in Tampere was broken into at the turn of May–June to the water tower and in mid-June to the pressure booster.
The targets of the burglaries were the Tesoma water tower and the pressure booster plant in Hervanta. Be the first to report on burglaries Evening News on Thursday.
Turku Sanomat (TS) also reported on Thursday that two water treatment plants located in the area of Southern Finland’s preparedness center have been broken into. The preparedness center of Southern Finland operates in the area of several different provinces in southern Finland.
The exact locations of the cleaning plants or the times of the burglaries are not known to HS so far.
According to TS, the burglaries at the cleaning plant came to light when the Varsinais-Suomen welfare area (Varha) sent its personnel a national security warning message. HS has not seen the message in question.
According to TS’s information, in addition to the water treatment plant break-ins, the message told about a person posing as a doctor who has tried to enter two health centers.
According to TS, the person posing as a doctor wanted to connect his laptop to the fixed network of the health center.
It is not known whether it was one person or separate persons.
The renovation site of the Helsinki region’s environmental services (HSY) water supply located in Vantaa was also broken into last week, reports HS on Friday. HSY did not want to specify the target in more detail.
IS also reported on Friday that there have been attempts to break into the Nikkilä water tower in Sipoo on two consecutive nights in June.
In addition Porvoo water announced at the beginning of June that the Linnamäki backup intake of Porvoo water had been broken into on two consecutive nights. The news also covered the matter Uusimaa newspaper.
What is known about fractures?
The burglaries in Tampere are currently being investigated as attempted thefts, said the crime commissioner Arto Partanen From the Internal Finland Police to HS on Friday.
Partanen did not comment on how many people were involved in the burglaries or whether the same persons committed both burglaries.
The cases were confirmed to IS by the managing director of Tampere water Petri Jokela told the newspaper that the suspected perpetrators have entered both objects. According to Jokela, the door in the water tower was broken, but the intruder has not been able to get into the water space.
In Hervanta, according to Jokela, the perpetrators got into the pressure reactor room, but the equipment had not been tampered with and nothing had been stolen.
About the two water treatment plant break-ins reported by TS, so far it is only known that they are located in the area of the emergency center in Southern Finland. The Southern Finland Emergency Center does not comment on the information.
TS says that according to the warning message sent by Varha to his staff, the police is investigating the cases. There is no information about possible sabotage or its quality or extent.
On Friday, HS made a round of calls to several police departments in southern Finland, none of which confirmed that the investigation involved a break-in at the water treatment plant.
It is known about the break-in at the renovation site of the water supply in Vantaa that the break-in did not target the renovation site itself, but the construction site cabins and equipment. In addition, a parked water supply vehicle had been broken into in the area, and tools had been taken from it.
HSY’s security director Veli-Pekka Vuorilehton according to the matter, a criminal report has been filed with the police and the investigation is ongoing.
Regarding the break-ins at Sipoo’s Nikkilä water tower, IS says that the burglar was able to open the outer door of the water tower on the first attempt, but did not get into the actual water space. The matter was confirmed to the newspaper by the director of Sipoon water’s business plant Matti Huttunen.
Porvoo vesi has filed a criminal complaint about the burglaries at Linnamäki’s backup water intake and has informed the ely center, among others, about the matter.
According to Porvoo water’s press release, the premises of the building that receives the backup water from Linnamäki have been sprayed with spray paint for years, windows have been broken and the area has been messed up.
It is not known whether the reported cases are related.
How have the cases been commented?
The Protection Police (Supo) told HS on Friday that Supo is aware of recent break-ins to water facilities and is working to protect critical infrastructure.
However, Supo does not comment on individual criminal cases.
Preparedness expert at the Huoltovarmuuskeskus (HVK). Ossi Heino assessed to HS on Friday that the recent water plant burglaries and their attempts can indicate an increase in influence attempts.
According to Heino, it cannot be ruled out that Russia is behind the series of burglaries. However, he reminded that breaking into water supply facilities is not always a particularly serious activity.
According to Heino, there are currently no indications that the water supply or its service capability cannot be trusted.
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