Danish security services have identified Russian plans to carry out sabotage, prompting Denmark to raise the cyberattack threat level from medium to high.
The country is warning that Russia plans to step up its hybrid war against the West and NATO in the coming months, Politico reports.
Denmark’s cyber agency said there is a high likelihood that Russia will attempt destructive cyberattacks, which is why the threat level was raised. This is currently the highest rating, as the next level is declared only during an attack itself. Denmark has become the first EU country to officially raise its cyber threat level due to Russia’s growing hybrid activity.
According to an assessment by the Danish Defence Intelligence Service, Russia will intensify its hybrid war and attack Western and NATO countries more frequently, with more serious consequences than before. Intelligence also sees a low but rising risk that Russia could launch a limited military attack on one or more NATO border countries.
Danish intelligence has uncovered concrete evidence that Russia is preparing sabotage operations against the country. The head of Denmark’s cyber agency, Laila Reinberg, stressed that cyberattacks could damage critical infrastructure and affect the work of government bodies, companies and citizens’ lives. For example, in 2024, Kremlin-linked hackers attacked a small Danish water utility, briefly leaving 450 homes without a water supply.
- The warnings from Danish services come amid a broader rise in Russia’s hybrid activity in Europe. Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow has carried out sabotage, cyberattacks and spread disinformation.
- In the summer, France and Germany summoned Russian ambassadors over cyberattacks. Soon afterwards, it emerged that one French city had suffered almost 270,000 cyberattacks in a week, with most hacker servers coming from Russia.
- This month, Russian hackers attacked the website of Norway’s parliament.