Mysterious requests flood inboxes at water utilities and district heating companies

Water utilities and district heating companies have received an unusually large number of freedom of information requests. This is according to a rewrite of a news item published by the local outlet Limfjord Update.

Freedom of information means that anyone can ask a public authority or a publicly owned company to see documents and information about its work. Normally it is a routine way to gain insight. Here, it is the sheer volume that has the companies reacting.

Suspicion of an AI bot

The Ministry of Education has said that at least 50 educational institutions have received identical requests from the same sender. The ministry sees signs that the requests come from an AI bot, meaning a computer program that can automatically send large numbers of inquiries, and the case has been reported to the police. The utility sector is seeing similar inquiries.

Who is behind them is not stated in the available information. It has also not been documented that the requests were actually generated by artificial intelligence. For now, this is an assessment based on signs.

Concern in the industry

Kim Mortensen, director of Dansk Fjernvarme, says the utility companies are worried that the requests will be used to gather information about them.

He points to the geopolitical situation, meaning the relationships between countries around the world. He believes Denmark is under attack from Russia in several areas. It is not clear from the sources whether the assessment of Russia is his own or comes from others.

The industry thus fears a motive other than pure coincidence or a prank. The sources do not point to a confirmed motive.

What does it mean for the reader?

For ordinary consumers, no concrete consequences for the delivery of water or heat are mentioned. The case shows that automated tools can be used to send huge numbers of inquiries, and that companies that provide critical public services may have to spend time assessing whether they are harmless or not.

The police report concerns the inquiries to the educational institutions. The source does not say whether the utility companies' inquiries have been reported to the police, and no clarification of who the sender is has been published.