Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Wednesday
Cyberattacks hit major Danish banks, how Denmark's teacher shortage could soon worsen, and a record number of abandoned pets are among the top news stories in Denmark on Wednesday.
Cyberattacks hit major Danish banks
Denmark's National Bank and at least seven other Danish banks were hit by cyberattacks on January 9th and 10th, knocking our their websites, broadcaster DR's tech correspondent reports.
Danske Bank's website was inaccessible for some customers on January 9th due to an overload attack, representatives write. Many of the affected banks — Jyske Bank, Sparekassen Sjælland-Fyn, Skjern Bank, Ringkjøbing Landbobank, Djurslands Bank and Kreditbanken — manage their IT through the company Bankdata.
Jyske Bank tells DR the overload attack "apparently originates from Russia," while Jan Kaastrup, a security expert at cyber security company CSIS, points to the Russian hacker group Killnet, which he says has claimed credit for a coordinated attack against Denmark.
Representatives from the banks say no customer data was compromised during the attack.
Denmark reports record number of dumped pets
Danes broke a dismal record in 2022, according to advocacy group Animal Protection Denmark. Nearly 1,400 pets were 'dumped' — abandoned in a public place like a forest or roadside — rather than being surrendered at an animal shelter, the group reports.
That figure is up 25 percent from 2018, Animal Protection Denmark tells news agency Ritzau.
Animal shelters ask people surrendering pets to pay a fee to support their care and feeding. Animal Protection Denmark says that some choose to leave their pets outside the organization's doors to avoid the submission fee.
"Dumping animals is never the solution," says shelter manager Karina Fisker. "Help is always available in one way or another by contacting the Animal Protection Service at our call centre or at the shelters. It is important to take responsibility for the animal as long as you have it and look after it properly."
If you find an abandoned animal or need to surrender your own pet, call 1812 to reach Animal Protection Denmark's call centre for support.
READ MORE: What Americans need to know about bringing their pets to Europe
How Denmark's teaching shortage could soon get worse
Amid a severe teacher shortage, Denmark began a programme to pay trainee child carers (pædagoger) a salary while they work at an early education institution during their studies. But now municipalities say they can't afford to shoulder the costs and will pause the programme.
"This is catastrophic, because we are in the middle of a recruitment crisis and the [paid, ed.] training programme is one of the solutions that we need to solve this," Elisa Rimpler, president of national teacher association BUPL, tells broadcaster DR.
Without the paid training programme, many will continue as teaching assistants instead of taking the professional qualification simply because they can't afford to study without taking in a salary, BUPL explains. That will worsen an already serious staff shortage in the sector.
One third of vacant positions for teachers went unfilled in just six months of 2022, BUPL's website says, amounting to 4,240 'missing teachers.' By 2030, Denmark faces a shortfall of as many as 14,000 child carers, BUPL adds.
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Cyberattacks hit major Danish banks
Denmark's National Bank and at least seven other Danish banks were hit by cyberattacks on January 9th and 10th, knocking our their websites, broadcaster DR's tech correspondent reports.
Danske Bank's website was inaccessible for some customers on January 9th due to an overload attack, representatives write. Many of the affected banks — Jyske Bank, Sparekassen Sjælland-Fyn, Skjern Bank, Ringkjøbing Landbobank, Djurslands Bank and Kreditbanken — manage their IT through the company Bankdata.
Jyske Bank tells DR the overload attack "apparently originates from Russia," while Jan Kaastrup, a security expert at cyber security company CSIS, points to the Russian hacker group Killnet, which he says has claimed credit for a coordinated attack against Denmark.
Representatives from the banks say no customer data was compromised during the attack.
Denmark reports record number of dumped pets
Danes broke a dismal record in 2022, according to advocacy group Animal Protection Denmark. Nearly 1,400 pets were 'dumped' — abandoned in a public place like a forest or roadside — rather than being surrendered at an animal shelter, the group reports.
That figure is up 25 percent from 2018, Animal Protection Denmark tells news agency Ritzau.
Animal shelters ask people surrendering pets to pay a fee to support their care and feeding. Animal Protection Denmark says that some choose to leave their pets outside the organization's doors to avoid the submission fee.
"Dumping animals is never the solution," says shelter manager Karina Fisker. "Help is always available in one way or another by contacting the Animal Protection Service at our call centre or at the shelters. It is important to take responsibility for the animal as long as you have it and look after it properly."
If you find an abandoned animal or need to surrender your own pet, call 1812 to reach Animal Protection Denmark's call centre for support.
READ MORE: What Americans need to know about bringing their pets to Europe
How Denmark's teaching shortage could soon get worse
Amid a severe teacher shortage, Denmark began a programme to pay trainee child carers (pædagoger) a salary while they work at an early education institution during their studies. But now municipalities say they can't afford to shoulder the costs and will pause the programme.
"This is catastrophic, because we are in the middle of a recruitment crisis and the [paid, ed.] training programme is one of the solutions that we need to solve this," Elisa Rimpler, president of national teacher association BUPL, tells broadcaster DR.
Without the paid training programme, many will continue as teaching assistants instead of taking the professional qualification simply because they can't afford to study without taking in a salary, BUPL explains. That will worsen an already serious staff shortage in the sector.
One third of vacant positions for teachers went unfilled in just six months of 2022, BUPL's website says, amounting to 4,240 'missing teachers.' By 2030, Denmark faces a shortfall of as many as 14,000 child carers, BUPL adds.
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