<
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/18/russia-criminal-networks-drive-increase-sabotage-europol>
"Russia and other state actors are driving an increase in politically motivated
cyber-attacks and sabotage of infrastructure and public institutions in the EU,
the bloc’s police enforcement agency has found.
Europol’s 80-page serious and organised crime threat assessment for 2025 also
describes in detail how “hybrid threat” actors have established a “shadow
alliance” with organised criminal gangs in Europe to try to destabilise the
functioning of the EU and its member states.
It identifies “a broad range of criminal activities and tactics” being deployed
by “criminal proxies” including sabotage, arson, cyber-attacks, data theft, and
migrant smuggling.
The report does not specifically identify Russia as a “hybrid threat actor”,
though it notes: “There is an increase in politically motivated cyber-attacks
against critical infrastructure and public institutions, originating from
Russia and countries in its sphere of influence.”
The EU commissioner for internal affairs and migration Magnus Brunner said at
the launch of the report: “Criminal networks that work on behalf of foreign
powers – that is something new. Some threats enter our union in less than a
second as an encrypted message, for instance, ordering an assassination of a
rival drugdealer. Some threats enter in a few days, like a bus full of
migrants, paid by the Russians.”
At the launch of the report at Europol’s headquarters in The Hague, the Polish
undersecretary of state for internal affairs, Maciej Duszczyk, said a recent
cyber-attack on a hospital which interrupted medical care for several hours was
linked to a state actor.
He also said migrant-smuggling incidents on the border with Belarus were
running to 150 to 170 a day and involved state actors working with criminal
gangs in the Middle East and Turkey.
Europol’s assessment of the threat posed by criminal gangs is conducted every
four years.
Poland’s police chief Marek Borón warned that, even if a peace deal is struck,
the Russian invasion of Ukraine would have a lasting impact, with a potential
“increase in the black market in weapons and ammunition and attempts by Russia
criminal-speaking groups to exert influence”."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
