In Denmark, we lack the necessary crisis awareness to resist hybrid attacks, researcher assesses.
Hybrid warfare is a phenomenon that NATO countries must take seriously. Because Russia makes systematic use of cyber attacks, sabotage and espionage, says NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, to DR .
At home too, the hybrid threat is increasing. The Defense Intelligence Service warned earlier this year against an increased risk of Russian hybrid war in Denmark .
André Ken Jakobsson researches hybrid warfare at the Center for War Studies at the University of Southern Denmark, and he believes that Denmark is lagging behind when it comes to preparing us for hybrid threats:
– There is a need to coordinate and cooperate when it comes to hybrid threats and crises. We have a bit of a shortage there. Now we have a new Ministry of Emergency Situations, which must draw from different parts of the state apparatus to exercise coordination, and then we will have to see how it goes, he says in Deadline .
This summer, for the first time since the Cold War, the Danes received information on how to behave in the event of a crisis triggered by, for example, a hybrid attack. It was far too late, considers André Ken Jakobsson. He also criticizes the fact that the authorities begin their communication by writing about weather conditions as a scenario that could give rise to a crisis. In this way, the threat from a hybrid attack is wrapped up too nicely, he believes:
– The Danes do not have a crisis awareness, nor do people who sit in special positions around them, who should be aware that they play a critical role in critical infrastructure. And we could use more of that awareness, he says.
They have more crisis awareness in Finland, where they have also experienced several incidents of hybrid attacks. Earlier this year, for example, Finland had to stop flights to Estonia due to GPS signal disturbances in the Baltic Sea region. As a neighboring country with a long border with Russia, Finnish society is prepared for this kind of attack, the country’s minister for Nordic cooperation tells Deadline :
– We a multifaceted security approach. It is not only about military defence, but also about education, about the role of companies, the civil and the public sector. All actors in society know their tasks during a possible crisis, says Anders Adlercreutz.
According to the minister, hybrid warfare is often not about combat at all, so the Nordic countries, which are close to Russia, must be aware of also arming their societies in areas other than the military:
– Hybrid threats are about taking care of trust in our society and about education. We must make sure that our children are media literate and can distinguish fake news from real news.
Anders Adlercreutz is one of four Nordic ministers who are debating Nordic defense cooperation tonight in the Debate on DR2, where NATO’s Secretary General also takes part. Watch the special edition “The Nordic response to Putin’s war” tonight at 20.00 on DR2 or on DRTV.
See the entire interview with Finland’s minister for Nordic cooperation on hybrid warfare in Deadline on DRTV .
