- Frank Gardner
- BBC security correspondent
39 minutes ago
image source, Getty Images
it is believed to have exploded under the Baltic Sea This caused a hole in the Nord Stream gas pipeline last year. It is a hybrid war. to punish Western nations for supporting Ukraine in fighting Russian aggression
A mysterious underwater explosion An Unknown Cyber Attack and the ingenious movement to undermine democracy in Western countries. These are all “hybrid threats”
The BBC has visited a work center dedicated to combating this new form of warfare. This causes concern for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and members of the European Union (EU).
Dr Teja Tillikainen defines the term “hybrid warfare” He said that “this is creating chaos in the information space. It is an attack on critical infrastructure.”
She is the director of the European Center of Excellence for Hybrid Threat Prevention (Hybrid CoE), which was established in Helsinki, Finland six years ago.
It is a vague form of threat, explains Dr Tilikinen. What other countries see as a threat that is difficult to resist and self defend
But these dangers are real dangers.
In September last year, there was an explosion under the Baltic Sea. This caused a hole in the Nord Stream gas pipeline between the coasts of Denmark and Sweden. The pipeline was built to transport natural gas from Russia to northern Germany.
The Russian government has flatly denied involvement. But Western nations speculate that the cause could be the result of Russia’s desire to cut fuel power to the West. to punish Ukraine for supporting Ukraine in fighting Russian aggression
There are also examples of electoral interference. At the time of the incident, only a few people were aware of this type of threat. But after the 2016 US presidential election, investigators concluded there was Russian interference. to destroy Hillary Clinton’s chances and aid Donald Trump, claims the Russian government also denies
The allegations allege that “bots,” fake online social media accounts, are operated by a group of pro-Russian IT professionals. which operates from its headquarters in St
There has also been a rapid increase in the spread of fake news since Russia invaded Ukraine. as propaganda and spreading false information to distort the facts of the war Make people in Russia and abroad believe that This war is “Defense yourself” from Russia
image source, HybridCoE
Dr Teja Tillikainen said the “hybrid warfare” was an unclear threat. What other countries see as a threat that is difficult to resist and self defend
Help Western governments defend themselves against these threats. So NATO and the EU formed a Hybrid CoE in Finland. because it is a nation that has operated a policy of political neutrality for decades since its defeat in the 1940s Russian invasion of the Winter War
With a 1,300km border with Russia, Finland is increasingly worried about threats from its neighbours. and began to turn towards the West more Before deciding to apply for NATO membership last year
In this CoE Hybrid Centre, Dr Tillikinen leads a team of analysts and experts from around 40 NATO and EU member states, including a Briton on loan from the UK Ministry of Defence.
He explained that the team is now focusing on the Arctic region. and mapping potential mixed hazards
Tillikainen Dr Shows that this field has new energy resources. This makes it possible that the superpowers will try to protect their interests. There was also a great deal of ignorance.
“The Russian saying is that the North Pole is a special region outside of conflict. And nothing bad will happen. But at the same time Russia is strengthening its military there,” he explained.
Hybrid threats such as cyber attacks and undersea attacks Like last year’s explosion on the Nord Stream gas pipeline between the coasts of Denmark and Sweden.
Perhaps the key difference between hybrid threats is that this type of threat is often not a traditional military attack that uses weapons to attack each other. But it will be a sneaky attack that does not clearly reveal who it is. and often less dangerous
Threats like this make it difficult to identify who was behind it, such as the massive cyber attack on Estonia in 2007 or the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea last year. where the criminals leave no traces or evidence to convict them
As a result, there are many ways one nation can harm another without using direct military action.
Hybrid CoE has produced a guide that summarizes And simulates situations that can arise from this type of danger for different nations to watch out for, such as using underwater weapons to declare a control area around the island. or close the strait
One of the real events that the center has studied in detail was the Russian operations in the Sea of Azov before it invaded Ukraine.
From October 2018, Ukrainian merchant ships will be able to travel to the Black Sea. You will have to queue up to be inspected by the Russian authorities first. This delay, which could last several days to two weeks, is wreaking havoc on Ukraine’s economy.
Regarding the spread of fake news Hybrid CoE experts have studied and evaluated public opinion polls across Europe. And found that Russia was the winner of this information war.
for example in Germany on Russian government propaganda that Attacking Ukraine as necessary to counter NATO provocations is becoming more and more popular. in Slovakia More than 30% of the respondents believed that the war in Ukraine was deliberately provoked by the West.
However, Dr Tillikainen said it is not the role of the Hybrid CoE to take action to combat these hybrid threats. but in the assessment and training of others to learn how to protect Europe from threats that increasingly threaten regional security.
