Hybrid CoE Contributions Archive - Hybrid CoE - The European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats

December 12, 2024

Aspects of cognitive warfare – special edition of The Defence Horizon Journal

This special edition of The Defence Horizon Journal is produced in collaboration with the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats and comprises a synthesis of materials produced for the April 2024 Cyber Power Symposium on Hybrid Conflict and Warfare held by Hybrid CoE in Helsinki, Finland.

Link to the special edition: https://tdhj.org/blog/post/free-download-cognitive-warfare/

The Defence Horizon Journal is a professional and academic journal that features essays, reports, and analyses covering geopolitics and law, security- and defence policy, peace and conflict studies, applied military science, as well as developments in weapons technology. The journal aims to inform about procedures, background and trends in the aforementioned topics. The selection of publications is topic and event driven.

December 12, 2024

Hybrid CoE contributed to CYDEF 2024 in Japan

Hybrid CoE contributed to Japan’s premier cyber conference – CYDEF – in Tokyo from 4 to 6 December 2024 in the form of a keynote and a panel discussion. The main theme of CYDEF 2024 was “Acquiring practical skills to tackle today’s challenges with technology and collaboration”.

The keynote, delivered by Josef Schroefl, Deputy Director COI Strategy and Defence, addressed the increasingly severe situation in cyberspace. According to Dr Schroefl, advanced technologies, such as generative AI and quantum computing, are rapidly evolving, presenting new threats that fundamentally challenge the foundations of our society. In the realm of cognitive warfare, activities aimed at influencing perceptions and destabilizing the very fabric of society are expanding. The importance of intelligence is also growing, as the ability to gather and analyze information has become crucial, not only for national but also for international and corporate security.

The panel, titled “Creating cooperatively the use of cyber-related technologies for gaining cognitive superiority”, shed light on region-specific nuances and best practices stemming from the US, Europe, Australia, and Japan. The panellists, nominated by Hybrid CoE’s expert pool, were Professor Chris Bronk (US), Professor Gabi Dreo Rodosek (Germany), Professor Matt Warren (Australia), and Dr Takamichi Saito (Japan).

More information about the conference can be found at: https://cydef.net/en/cydef2024_event/

August 8, 2024

Hybrid threats discussed at the informal meeting of National Council Presidents in the Austerlitz+ format

Joseph Schroefl, Deputy Director of COI Strategy & Defence at Hybrid CoE, gave a keynote speech at the informal meeting of the Presidents of National Councils in the Austerlitz+ format in Salzburg on 23 August.

At the meeting, Mr Schroefl emphasized the fact that all states have vulnerabilities and weak spots that are targeted by hybrid threats. “Awareness, resilience and an active policy by all states are needed to defend Europe,” highlighted Mr Schroefl.

The informal session brought together the Austrian National Council President, Mr Sobotka; the President of the Czech Chamber of Deputies, Ms Pekarová Adamová; the Acting President of the Slovak National Council, Mr Žiga; the President of the Slovenian National Assembly, Ms Klakočar Zupančič; the President of the Croatian Parliament, Mr Jandroković; and the Chairman of the Foreign and European Policy Committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Mr Tremonti.

Participants agreed that awareness-raising and education on hybrid threats, international cooperation, as well as combatting hate speech and disinformation are all crucial to enhancing states’ ability to respond to hybrid threats.

April 4, 2024

Aspects of cognitive superiority – special edition of The Defence Horizon Journal

This special edition of The Defence Horizon Journal is produced in collaboration with the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats and comprises a synthesis of materials produced for the early October 2023 Cyber Power Symposium on Hybrid Conflict/Warfare held by Hybrid CoE in Helsinki, Finland.

Link to the special edition: https://tdhj.org/blog/post/aspects-of-cognitive-superiority/

Colonel Soenke Marahrens (left) and Minna Ålander during a panel discussion on ‘What and how NATO can or should learn from new and aspirant NATO members’

December 12, 2023

Hybrid CoE panel at NATO C2COE annual seminar

Hybrid CoE cooperated with the NATO Command and Control Centre of Excellence (NATO C2COE) by organizing a panel discussion for C2COE’s annual Command and Control seminar in November. Colonel Soenke Marahrens, Director of COI S&D at Hybrid CoE, planned and moderated a discussion on What and how NATO can or should learn from new and aspirant NATO members.

Research Fellow Minna Ålander from the Finnish Institute of International Affairs identified geography, demography, and perception as decisive factors for Finland’s high degree of societal and governmental resilience, and the success of the Finnish comprehensive security concept.

Dr Viktoriya Fedorchak from the Swedish Defence University reviewed the Swedish concept of total defence, which was developed after the Second World War and consists of four pillars: civil, military, economic, and psychological. Since the late 1990s, Sweden has adapted to the new security paradigm by drastically reducing its defence budget and downsizing its armed forces. However, the annexation of Crimea in 2014 triggered a rethink within the Swedish government.

Colonel Mietta Groeneveld, Director of the NATO C2COE, pointed out that in the future, NATO Command and Control must be more aware of the strong sovereignty of NATO allies. Executing command and control in Europe is different from C2 when NATO deploys forces in regions with weak or almost no governmental powers.

Colonel Soenke Marahrens added that in addition to the challenges and opportunities presented by new technologies such as artificial intelligence, as discussed earlier in the seminar, there is also both an opportunity and a need to learn from Sweden and Finland when it comes to NATO’s future collective defence.

December 12, 2023

Hybrid CoE panel at CYDEF 2023 in Tokyo

Hybrid CoE contributed to Japan’s most important cyber defense conference – CYDEF – in Tokyo from 29 November to 1 December 2023 in the form of a panel discussion.

The Hybrid CoE panel, moderated by Josef Schroefl, Deputy Director COI Strategy and Defence, discussed the relationship between hybrid warfare and cognitive threats from a cyber defence point of view.

The panel, titled “The cyber and hybrid aspects of cognitive superiority: The relationship between hybrid warfare and cognitive threats from the cyber defence point of view”, shed light on region-specific nuances and best practices stemming from Canada, Europe, Australia, and Japan. The panelists, nominated by Hybrid CoE’s expert pool, were Professor Sascha-Dominik Dov Bachmann, Professor Stephanie Carvin, Gazmend Huskaj, and Major General Yoshiki Adachi.

The main theme of the CYDEF 2023 conference was “International Order and Active Cyber Defense”.

For more information about the conference, please see: https://cydef.net/en/events/cydef2023.

Source: Anthony Beck/ Pexels

October 10, 2023

Teija Tiilikainen’s contribution ‘The EU and Regional and Sub-Regional Cooperation’ in the new book on ‘The EU and the Baltic Sea Area’

Hybrid CoE’s Director, Teija Tiilikainen has written a contribution to a new book exploring the role of the European Union (EU) in the cooperation and regulation of the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). It focuses on the role of the Union in advancing the broader marine governance framework in the region. Questions investigated include: in what way does the Union participate in, or otherwise influence, the activities of States, international organisations and other actors involved in BSR cooperation and regulation, and what is the importance and substantive outcome of the Union’s specific role in this respect? How has the membership of eight out of nine Baltic Sea coastal States in the EU affected cooperation in the region, in terms of substance as well as procedure, and what is the influence of the BSR over the EU? These questions are discussed from different perspectives by leading experts in both the fields of EU law and the law of the BSR.

Dr Tiilikainen has written an article on ‘The EU and Regional and Sub-Regional Cooperation’. The EU is an expression of very special regional cooperation. But how does the Union relate itself to other forms of regional cooperation taking place entirely or partly in its legal and institutional framework? The EU seems to be supportive of regional and sub-regional cooperation as long as it remains compatible with the general principles and objectives of EU law. Considering the diversity of existing examples of regional cooperation within the EU, the Union can be considered to have found its modus operandi in accommodating the phenomenon within its own framework. This chapter focuses on this modus operandi by analysing forms of regional cooperation in the EU from different perspectives. First, it studies the key normative framework and the key parts of EU law affecting the role of regional cooperation. The second dimension of regional cooperation to be discussed concerns its political legitimacy as a part of European politics.

Read the whole summary of Dr Tiilikainen’s article here.

The book can be bought here. (link to the publisher’s website).

Source: shutterstock.com/Maclevan

September 9, 2023

The hybridity of Russia’s attack on Ukraine

Sönke Marahrens, Director of the Community of Interest on Strategy & Defence at Hybrid CoE contributed to the Defence Horizon Journal by writing an article on Russia’s hybrid and conventional strategies and tactics in Ukraine.

“Although Russia’s attack, called by Russia a ‘special military operation’ only, on Ukraine on February 24, 2022 – must be understood as a hybrid war that went rogue, Russia’s activities after the initial failure in late February 2022 should also be analyzed and addressed as part of conventional war theory rather than a part of a ‘hybrid war’ theory alone”. Mr Marahrens argues.

The whole article can be accessed via the link below:
The Russia-Ukraine Conflict From A Hybrid Warfare Perspective – A Year In The War

Josef Schroefl from Hybrid CoE co-chaired the session together with Carmen March, President & CEO at United Cybersecurity Alliance.

October 10, 2022

Hybrid CoE at the Cyber Security and Cloud Expo in Silicon Valley

Hundreds of cyber-security experts representing both the private and public gathered in Santa Clara, California on 5–6 October to learn about the most recent developments in cybersecurity, and to take part in thought-provoking discussions on the topic.

Josef Schroefl from Hybrid CoE contributed to the panel “The power of cyber in hybrid threats and securing the global supply chain with the help of AI”, focusing on the role of new technologies as an enabler of cyber threats.

May 5, 2022

Cyber PESCO Projects Conference

COI S&D Deputy Director Josef Schroefl participated as a panelist in the Cyber PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation) Projects Conference: ‘The EU Cyber Resilience Challenge – a Joint PESCO Cooperative Approach’. The conference, hosted by the Portuguese MoD with the support of the European Defence Agency, took place in Lisbon from 24 to 25 May, 2022.

PESCO is a part of the European Union’s security and defence policy, in which 25 of the 27 national armed forces pursue structural integration. The key difference between PESCO and other forms of cooperation is the legally binding nature of the commitments undertaken by the 25 member states that participate in PESCO.

Mr Schroefl took part in the panel ‘EU-NATO cooperation in the cyber domain (strategy and reality)’, where he highlighted the fact that cyber is the main enabler of hybrid threats, and can only be countered with more EU-NATO cooperation. He also briefed on Hybrid CoE’s ‘Cyber power in hybrid conflict and warfare (CPH)’ workstrand, the main objective of which is to raise awareness of, identify and address relevant strategic questions regarding the cyber domain in the context of hybrid conflict. The workstrand’s flagship project is the annual CPH Symposium every autumn.

The conclusion drawn from the event was that the EU and NATO have already established a good basis for countering cyber and hybrid threats, but there is still room for improvement. Situational awareness and effective communication between the organizations must be enhanced to face the current challenges in the information and cyber domains.

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Social identities and democratic vulnerabilities: Learning from examples of targeted disinformation

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Training and exercises

Regions and alliances

Deterrence and resilience

Infrastructure and economy

Cyber, space and technology

Hybrid warfare

Hybrid influence

Actors

Hybrid threats

JEF course sharpens understanding of hybrid threats among defence planners

Protecting maritime infrastructure from hybrid threats: legal options

Countering state-sponsored proxies: Designing a robust policy

Strings attached: China’s narrative influence in Sub-Saharan Africa

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