Finland's parliamentary website targeted ahead of NATO entry: Report

Finland's parliamentary website was paralysed by a denial-of-service attack on Tuesday, just before the country made its historic entry into NATO, a move that more than doubles NATO's border with Russia and has angered Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The attacks in which participants flood targets with junk data made the parliament's site hard to use, with many pages not loading and some functions not available for a time.

A pro-Russian hacker group known as NoName057 (16) claimed responsibility, saying the attack was retaliation for Finland joining NATO. The hacker group, which has reportedly acted on Moscow's orders, has taken part in a slew of cyberattacks on the US and its allies in the past. The claim could not be immediately verified.

For the most part, Finns went about their business as usual on the bright cold day, belying the historic nature of Finland becoming the 31st member of NATO. Its membership was formalised with a series of steps in Brussels.

It's a moment that