Danish Industry suspects storm of access requests to be pranks or harassment

Both utility companies and upper secondary schools have experienced a large number of requests for access to documents.

Both Danish waterworks and Danish district heating companies have recently experienced receiving mysterious requests for access to documents, which are apparently AI-generated. (Archive photo) (Photo: © Liselotte Sabroe, Ritzau Scanpix)

20 minutes ago

It could be a prank or pure harassment behind the many requests for access to documents that a number of upper secondary schools and vocational schools, as well as waterworks and district heating companies, have received recently.

This is the assessment of the Confederation of Danish Industry, which has become involved in the case because several private companies have also received the many requests for access to documents, which share the common feature that they are believed to be written using artificial intelligence, AI.

Jeppe Engell, Chief Consultant and cybersecurity expert at the Confederation of Danish Industry, tells Ritzau that despite the suspicion that the access requests could be harassment, the Confederation of Danish Industry is still taking the matter seriously.

Read also: 'Strange' requests hit many utility companies: Industry fears it could be used for a cyberattack ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/maerkelige-anmodninger-rammer-mange-forsyningsselskaber-branche-frygter-det-kan-bruges-til-et )

- But they are in no way actors that give cause for concern, he says.

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Ministry is preparing guidance

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The Ministry of Justice writes in an email to DR News that it has begun "preparing relevant general guidance" for authorities and utility companies in the wake of the storm of access to documents requests.

>

> We are concerned that it might be used to obtain information about

> the utility companies, so it can be used in a larger context to gain

> more clarity on how our emergency preparedness is structured

>

The Ministry of Justice is doing this as the responsible authority for the Public Information Act, which is the law that ensures the right of access to documents.

- The Ministry of Justice can further state that the ministry is aware that a large number of authorities and utility companies have received atypically many similar requests for access to documents.

- Several of these authorities and utility companies have also requested guidance from the ministry regarding the handling of these requests, the ministry writes.

Read also: Scammers can easily clone and misuse your boss's voice or face: 'It's no longer science fiction' ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/penge/svindlere-kan-nemt-klone-og-misbruge-din-chefs-stemme-eller-ansigt-det-er-ikke-science-fiction )

The unusually large number of requests has created concerns at schools and utility companies, as they fear the sender may have malicious intent.

- In the current geopolitical situation, we know we are under attack from Russia in several areas, said Kim Mortensen, who is the director of Danish District Heating, yesterday to DR News.

- We are concerned that it might be used to obtain information about the utility companies, so it can be used in a larger context to gain more clarity on how our emergency preparedness is structured.

The inquiries about access to documents at several educational institutions have led the Ministry of Education to closely monitor the situation ( https://uvm.dk/aktuelt/nyheder/2026/oktober/301010-mindst-50-institutioner-paa-uddannelsesomraadet-er-udsat-for-et-stort-antal-aktindsigtsanmodninger-fra-samme-afsender/ ), and educational institutions have been urged by the Agency for IT and Learning to report the inquiries as IT crime.

DR News has reached out to the Danish Emergency Management Agency, but it has not yet responded.

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