The article details strategic vulnerabilities in Europe’s critical infrastructures due to hybrid warfare tactics from Russia and China. These states leverage cyber operations, information warfare, espionage, and infrastructure sabotage to destabilize European countries. Russia’s activities include cyberattacks on energy grids, disinformation campaigns, and covert paramilitary provocations, notably near EU and NATO borders. China also pursues strategic influence operations and espionage targeting technological and economic sectors. Hybrid threats combine conventional and unconventional tools such as malware, propaganda, and legal subversion, demanding coordinated European defense responses. The article emphasizes the complexity and multi-domain nature of these threats, illustrating the urgent need for enhanced resilience in critical infrastructure sectors, including energy, communications, and transport. It also underscores the challenges posed by state actors’ use of proxies and covert tactics to obscure attribution. Overall, the piece highlights the imperative for European states to strengthen multi-layered defense strategies against evolving hybrid warfare threats.
Category: Cyber & Information Warfare
Subcategory: Information Operations
Incident Type: Propaganda & disinformation campaigns
Country: European Union
Source report: europe.hss.de/en/news-g…
