• November 3, 2023

Jarmo Lindberg elected new Chair of Hybrid CoE’s Steering Board

General Jarmo Lindberg, FAF, MP, has been elected Chair of the Steering Board of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats from 1 January 2024 for a term of three years.

The current Chair, Mr Jori Arvonen, State Under-Secretary for European Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office of Finland, will leave the position at the end of 2023, having chaired the Steering Board since the establishment of the Centre in 2017. Mr Arvonen was also part of the group preparing for the Centre’s establishment in Helsinki, Finland.

The Steering Board, consisting of representatives from Hybrid CoE’s 35 Participating States, is the principal decision-making body at the Centre. Staff representatives from the EU and NATO are invited to attend the Steering Board meetings.

“As a consequence of the conventional war raging in Europe, we must also be better prepared for future hybrid threats where nation-states search for all possible avenues of influence to enforce their own agenda,” said General Lindberg. “We need to take our comprehensive security to the next level, where inter-governmental cooperation enables better situational awareness for future coordinated operations against challenging hybrid operations.”

General Lindberg is the former Chief of Defence of Finland (2014–2019) and is currently a Member of the Finnish Parliament. Previously, he has also served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics and Armaments in the Finnish Defence Command, as well as Commander of the Finnish Air Force, among other positions. He retired from the Finnish Defence Forces in 2019.

“In six years, the Centre has contributed greatly to raising awareness of hybrid threats and to bringing EU and NATO countries together, helping them to understand and counter the threats. It has been a privilege to participate in this journey,” said outgoing Chair, Jori Arvonen.

Talking to Hybrid CoE’s Steering Board, Under-Secretary Arvonen also commented on the future of the Centre: “The way I see it, the next step for Hybrid CoE is not only to contribute to our own work, but to reach out to our partners outside the EU and NATO and to create a global network of like-minded countries working together. With General Jarmo Lindberg as Chair, and Professor Teija Tiilikainen as Director, I am convinced that the Centre will continue to play an even more central role in the years to come.”

Hybrid CoE’s mission is to strengthen its Participating States’ security by providing expertise and training for countering hybrid threats, and by enhancing EU-NATO cooperation in this respect. The Centre is an autonomous hub for practitioners and experts, located in Helsinki, Finland.

  • October 27, 2023

North Macedonia joins Hybrid CoE

On 27 October, the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats had the pleasure of welcoming Mr Bujar Osmani, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia. Mr Osmani visited the Centre to hand over the Letter of Notification to Director Teija Tiilikainen, officially making North Macedonia the 35th Participating State of Hybrid CoE.

“Hybrid threats have become an ever more visible part of our security environment, and it’s with this in mind that I’m pleased to welcome North Macedonia to join the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats,” Director Teija Tiilikainen stated. “With the accession of its 35th Participating State, the Centre is now even stronger when it comes to building capacity and expertise in support of democratic societies.”

“Hybrid threats pose an unprecedented challenge today, blurring the lines between conventional and unconventional warfare, transcending time and space, and demanding innovative strategies to safeguard national and international security,” said Mr Osmani.

“For North Macedonia, participation in Hybrid CoE represents a huge step towards strengthening national resilience and advancing collective efforts to counter these increasing challenges. We are honoured to join as the 35th country, and are eagerly looking forward to collaborating and sharing experiences with the other Participating States, the EU and NATO. Our aim is not only to make a valuable contribution to the activities of Hybrid CoE but also, through collective efforts and mutual support, to effectively address all security challenges within the complex and ever-evolving realm of hybrid threats,” Mr Osmani added.

In addition to North Macedonia, the Participating States of the Centre of Excellence include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Centre cooperates closely with the EU and NATO.

  • October 10, 2023

The relationship between hybrid warfare and cognitive threats studied from the cyber defence point of view

Hybrid CoE organized the fifth Cyber Power Symposium on Hybrid Conflict and Warfare (CPH) on 3 October. This year’s online symposium, entitled ‘The cyber and hybrid aspects of cognitive warfare/superiority’, was organized for the first time together with the European Defence Agency (EDA). It drew experts from 33 Hybrid CoE Participating States, the EU and NATO, as well as from Australia, Japan, Ukraine, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland.

Questions addressed during the event included the role of artificial intelligence and quantum computing in cognitive warfare, possible countermeasures, and the potential need for an additional concept of cognitive defence to counter information, psychological and cyber elements as a part of hybrid defence.

The first panel discussed countering cognitive warfare, especially in relation to the cyber-information-influence nexus and operations that can be carried out within it. Cases from Australia, Austria, Canada, and the USA were discussed. One of the conclusions was that state actors may achieve cognitive superiority by regulation and laws or by educational empowerment.

The second panel focused on the relationship between hybrid warfare and cognitive threats. With the changing international order and rapid technological advances, it is important to respond to new ‘ways of warfare’, including the threats emanating from the cognitive domain.­­­­­

Cognitive superiority can be seen as the goal of modern information and cyber warfare, relying on access to information, pervasive surveillance, personalized persuasion, and new technologies. One of the takeaways from the symposium was that cognitive superiority is nothing new – it is part of or included in hybrid threats, but there is also a cognitive domain. Hence, we must start to think about hybrid threats in a more sophisticated way.

  • September 18, 2023

ESDC-led course ‘The Contribution of Cyber in Hybrid Conflict’ held for second time in Helsinki

Hybrid CoE had the pleasure of hosting the course ‘The Contribution of Cyber in Hybrid Conflict’ for the second time on 11–15 September 2023. The course was organized in cooperation with the European Defence Agency (EDA) under the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) framework, bringing together 41 participants from across EU institutions, 19 member-state ministries, and military headquarters.

During the first two days, the course provided participants with lectures on the key elements of cyber defence and hybrid threats, and addressed the implications of the intersection of cyber and hybrid threats/attacks and campaignsto deepen participants’ understanding of the broad spectrum of hybrid threats. Hybrid CoE experts briefed attendees on the conceptual model of hybrid threats, the nexus between cyber and hybrid threats, disinformation, hybrid warfare, deterrence, and the role of state actors such as Russia and China. Representatives from the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Union Military Staff (EUMS) and the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) introduced the EU and NATO approaches to cyber, strategic communication and the cyber diplomacy toolbox.

On the remaining course days, the participants had the opportunity to practise what they had learned by joining a tabletop exercise addressing the implications of the nexus of cyber and hybrid. The roles that the participants played in the exercise resembled their position in reality, senior advisors to the political leadership. During this decision-making exercise, the participants assessed an emerging crisis situation in national teams representing imaginary countries, developed a strategic plan to fulfil their country’s policy objectives, and selected a range of actions using all levers of national power. These interlinked decisions were played out over four successive turns in an insight-rich and highly absorbing learning exercise.

On 15 September, certificates were ceremoniously handed over to participants who successfully completed the course. The course is recognized by the EU, EDA and ESDC.

  • September 12, 2023

Bulgaria joins Hybrid CoE

On 12 September, the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats had the pleasure of welcoming Ms Mariya Gabriel, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, when she visited the Centre to hand over the Letter of Notification to Director Teija Tiilikainen, officially making Bulgaria the 34th Participating State of Hybrid CoE.

“I’m delighted to be able to welcome Bulgaria as they join Hybrid CoE,” Dr Tiilikainen said. “In an increasingly difficult geopolitical environment, the value of cooperation among EU and NATO members and the sharing of best practices comes to the fore. By bringing its own perspective to the table, Bulgaria will further strengthen our joint efforts to counter hybrid threats.”

“We find ourselves in a geopolitically contested world, where hybrid tactics have emerged as a new set of risks and challenges that transcend borders and traditional spheres of security, and put our resilience and capacity to act to the ultimate test. In this new world, driven by rapid technological innovations, where the boundaries between the physical and digital realms are becoming increasingly blurred, Bulgaria stands ready to contribute to the activities of Hybrid CoE and looks forward to working with all our EU partners and NATO allies. Proactive cooperation should be the cornerstone of our common defence against new and evolving challenges in the hybrid domain,” Minister Gabriel stated.

Besides Bulgaria, the Participating States of the Centre of Excellence include Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Centre cooperates closely with the EU and NATO.

  • September 12, 2023

Securing elections against foreign interference: best practices and recommendations

Ahead of the European Parliament elections in June 2024, the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE) has produced a report examining the countermeasures that various states are implementing to secure their elections against foreign interference.

In Hybrid CoE Research Report 10 – Preventing election interference: Selected best practices and recommendations – Veronika Krátka Špalková and Andrej Poleščuk present for the first time a comprehensive overview of the best practices implemented to safeguard electoral processes in the European Union and NATO countries. The study focuses on selected Hybrid CoE Participating States and also draws on the experiences of two countries that are on the frontline of foreign interference activities, namely Ukraine and Taiwan.

The research shows that in most countries, election interference is more often directed at voters, seeking to influence their decisions, rather than direct attacks on election infrastructure to manipulate the vote count. In consequence, the protective measures taken should emphasize building the overall resilience of the population to malign foreign influence.

The report categorizes the protective measures that are used according to the timeframe in which they were implemented in relation to election day. These range from long-term measures – often in place regardless of the election cycle – to measures taken less than three months beforehand, during and after the elections.

For the national and international authorities in charge of organizing elections, the report provides both a detailed table of individual activities taken by states within the different time periods in the run-up to elections, as well as a set of twelve recommendations to enhance the protection of elections against foreign interference.

The recommendations range from measures aimed at building citizens’ resilience to those related to legislative and systemic changes to create a more robust system to protect the election infrastructure and electoral processes against foreign influencing attempts.

The recommendations are available here.

The whole report can be downloaded here.

Salla Saastamoinen, Deputy Director-General, Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission presenting her keynote at the high-level event.
  • September 8, 2023

The CORE model – a useful tool for rethinking resilience comprehensively

In 2022, Hybrid CoE and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) launched a flagship report titled Hybrid Threats – A Comprehensive Resilience Ecosystem, suggesting a framework for rethinking resilience comprehensively. The report has been well received and has already served as the basis for further work by several stakeholders and organizations.

On 8 September, over 150 experts gathered in Helsinki and online with the aim of fostering policymakers’ and practitioners’ understanding of the Comprehensive Resilience Ecosystem (CORE) model as a practical tool for providing a hands-on methodology and helping to build resilience in a comprehensive manner.

The event was organized together with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and hosted a panel discussion where stakeholders, such as the European External Action Service (EEAS), European Defence Agency, Swedish Defence University, Netherlands Advisory Council on International Affairs, and NATO, presented how they have applied the model in practice.

During the panel, it became evident that the CORE model is already part of the EU’s political initiatives to build resilience against hybrid threats. It has supported the EU’s policymakers in identifying gaps and needs, as well as identifying ways to address them. At the Participating State level, it can serve as a baseline for national resilience-building efforts and as a source of inspiration for recommendations. The CORE model is also useful for training and exercise purposes.In their keynotes, Teija Tiilikainen, Director of Hybrid CoE, and Salla Saastamoinen, Deputy Director-General of the Joint Research Centre, emphasized  whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches towards countering hybrid threats, and highlighted the need for anticipation and foresight capabilities and the ability to actively shape the security environment rather than trying to catch up with adversaries. According to the Directors, the flagship report and the panel event are good examples of the intersection of science and policy.

Hybrid Threats A Comprehensive Resilience Ecosystem – Executive Summary

  • August 14, 2023

Tapio Pyysalo appointed Head of International Relations

Tapio Pyysalo, MSc Econ, has been appointed Head of International Relations at the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats from 14 August 2023.

His predecessor, Rasmus Hindrén, will return to the Finnish Ministry of Defence on 1 September. Rasmus will start working in a newly created position as a team leader for EU and NATO defence policy.

The Head of International Relations is responsible for maintaining and developing relations with the Centre’s 33 Participating States, the EU, NATO, as well as other key partners.

“I’m very happy that we’ve found a highly competent and motivated successor to Rasmus, who has done a great job developing Hybrid CoE’s relations with its key stakeholders,” said Hybrid CoE Director Teija Tiilikainen. “Tapio will now take this important work forward, together with the hard-working International Relations team and the support of the whole Centre.”

Tapio Pyysalo is a career diplomat in the Finnish foreign service. He has gained experience from several foreign and domestic postings, with a particular focus on security policy and multilateral diplomacy. He was most recently posted to New York, where he worked on UN Security Council affairs, and has previously worked on EU and NATO security policy both in Brussels and Helsinki.

“I’m very excited to join the highly professional Hybrid CoE team at a time when its work is more relevant than ever. I look forward to working with all Participating States and other international partners to counter hybrid threats,” commented Tapio.

Hybrid CoE’s mission is to strengthen its Participating States’ security by providing expertise and training for countering hybrid threats, and by enhancing EU-NATO cooperation in this respect. The Centre is an autonomous hub for practitioners and experts, located in Helsinki, Finland.

Source: Romas_Photo / Shutterstock.com
  • June 12, 2023

Of waning certainties and rising risks: CoE experts delineate economic trends and hybrid threat activities

As global power dynamics shift and new technologies develop apace, new hybrid threats emerge alongside them. The global economy is interconnected on an unprecedented scale. At the same time, authoritarian regimes increasingly challenge the rules and principles of global governance. Hence, for the first time, the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats has dedicated a comprehensive Trend Report to economic threat potentials.

New frontiers for hybrid aggression

“What we can clearly observe is increased target practice. Hybrid threat actors, such as Russia or China, resort ever more to the economic domain,” explained Hybrid CoE Senior Analyst Ragnar Ingibergsson,who has co-authored the report with his colleague Jukka Aukia. The authors argue for readjusted policy responses in the economic realm, calling for economic policies and national security strategies to proceed in lockstep. To this end, the report lists an array of examples on which policymakers should focus their attention.

As malign actors are searching for vulnerabilities in democracies worldwide, the authors observe that economic coercion is intensifying. “Economic hybrid threats are part and parcel of authoritarian strategies. Ultimately, they are a cost-effective tool to promote a political ideology. To achieve their ends, authoritarians will not stop short of inflicting harm – if they perceive the cost to be calculable,” Mr Ingibergsson stated. “Above all, this is a pragmatic choice, which is geared towards avoiding political accountability for aggressive actions.”

From economic coercion to weaponized resources

In the field of economic coercion, the report focuses on China’s posture, which – alongside its economic leverage – is in flux and becoming more confrontational: “As a global trade heavyweight, we can expect China to take centre stage as an economic hybrid threat actor. China will continue to leverage its economic threat potential to further its own strategic agenda – a scenario for which we will need to prepare ourselves,” Mr Ingibergsson added. 

Examples of hybrid aggression listed in the report range from deliberate attempts to manipulate supply chains for production, and attacks on critical infrastructure, to the weaponization of crucial resources. “Russian President Putin, for instance, has demonstrated his resolve to leverage whatever tool is at his disposal to create global divisions, be it the supply of grain or gas,” said Mr Ingibergsson, pointing to another example of economic hybrid activity in the report.

“To weather the multiple storm fronts in the economic realm, policymakers must reinvigorate fair, transparent, and rules-based economic principles. When it comes to authoritarian regimes, insisting on reciprocity is key. Ultimately, the costs of coordinated responses to risks will be cheaper than inaction. However, they will be reflected in global markets,” Mr Ingibergsson noted.

To avoid bloc-building – a scenario which the authors say they cannot rule out in view of the zero-sum thinking of some authoritarian regimes – policymakers in market-based democracies should pivot towards emerging markets. At the same time, they should show clear initiative in working towards fair and universal access to critical resources, and in preparing their societies more effectively, by linking the public and private sectors as closely as possible.

The full report can be downloaded here: https://www.hybridcoe.fi/publications/hybrid-coe-trend-report-10-threat-potential-in-the-economy-from-vulnerabilities-to-chinas-increased-coercion/

  • April 20, 2023

Hybrid CoE and the JRC launch a new model to build resilience against hybrid threats

The list of hybrid threats launched by authoritarian regimes and other hostile actors against democratic societies is long, with threats ranging from using coordinated disinformation and exerting economic pressure to instrumentalization of migration and launching cyberattacks. In fact, the list of threats is ever-growing as it is meant to challenge the democratic model. 

To help counter hybrid threats and support policymakers to defend their societies, the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE) and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) have constructed a new model suggesting a framework for rethinking resilience comprehensively.

In the newly published report Hybrid threats: a comprehensive resilience ecosystem, the authors propose a Comprehensive Resilience Ecosystem (or CORE) model, an approach which, for the first time, provides a systemic way to help policymakers counter complex hybrid threats in both a coordinated and an efficient manner. 

The model presented in the report highlights two factors when we think about a response: Firstly, open societies are ever more connected within and between one another. Secondly, any response should involve the whole of society to counter threats effectively. Thus, the presented model addresses different “spaces” of society (governance, civic, and services) as well as different “levels” (international, national, and local) and, most importantly, their mutual interactions.

Analytically, the model helps to show how the sum of hybrid threat activities challenges democracies by applying different types of pressure to society as categorized in the model. 

“This paper showcases the synergies that we can create when we bundle our expertise between institutions and leverage our expert networks in the field of hybrid threats: The report bundles our collective know-how, drawing on lessons learned from five years of intensive research at Hybrid CoE and our exchange with practitioners. It provides essential suggestions based on our work, namely, how to better build resilience in the realms of civil society, governance and services,” stated Jukka Savolainen, Director of the Community of Interest on Vulnerabilities and Resilience at Hybrid CoE.

“We are grateful to colleagues at the EU Commission’s Joint Research Centre for the opportunity to contribute to this landmark report.”

“The new CORE model developed by the JRC and Hybrid CoE is a tangible tool, which will help to defend democratic societies against hybrid threats. The model proposes a systems-thinking approach to help policymakers counter even complex hybrid threats in an efficient and coordinated way,” pointed out Rainer Jungwirth, Team leader for research on hybrid threats at the JRC.

“It is the most recent culmination of the successful collaboration between our two institutions, and it leverages the expertise that the JRC has developed over the years in the area of security research and its links with policymaking. We would like to thank our co-authors for their dedication to this project.” 

Overall, the CORE model provides democratic policymakers with a hands-on tool to analyze how authoritarian states or non-state actors employ hybrid threat activity to manipulate or destabilize democracies. The “ecosystem” approach also helps to spot early signals, facilitates their analysis, and identifies responses to counter hybrid threats and build resilience.

Specifically, the CORE model 

  • maps how malicious actors use various tools against different domains to reach their target;
  • helps detect hostile activities and their intensity; 
  • monitors affected dependencies to avoid possible cascading effects; 
  • makes it easier to anticipate damage to our democracies; and 
  • assesses impacts of possible hybrid attacks and campaigns. 


As such, the new CORE model is a strategic dashboard for policymakers which helps them to decide which resources, tools and measures to mobilize in the face of hostile activities at EU, Member State or operational level. It constitutes a tangible tool for all Hybrid CoE Participating States to anticipate hybrid threats, assess their impact and guide a response.

Hybrid Threats A Comprehensive Resilience Ecosystem – Executive Summary

More information:

Aleksi Aho, Analyst, Community of Interest for Vulnerabilities & Resilience, Hybrid CoE 
Email: aleksi.aho@hybridcoe.fi

Rainer Jungwirth, Team leader, Unit E.2 “Technologies for Space, Security and Connectivity”, Joint Research Centre, European Commission 
Email: rainer.jungwirth@ec.europa.eu

Organization (Hybrid CoE)

Jarmo Lindberg elected new Chair of Hybrid CoE’s Steering Board

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Organization (Hybrid CoE)

North Macedonia joins Hybrid CoE

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Cyber

The relationship between hybrid warfare and cognitive threats studied from the cyber defence point of view

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Cyber

ESDC-led course ‘The Contribution of Cyber in Hybrid Conflict’ held for second time in Helsinki

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Organization (Hybrid CoE)

Bulgaria joins Hybrid CoE

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Election interference

Securing elections against foreign interference: best practices and recommendations

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Resilience

The CORE model – a useful tool for rethinking resilience comprehensively

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Organization (Hybrid CoE)

Tapio Pyysalo appointed Head of International Relations

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Economic security

Of waning certainties and rising risks: CoE experts delineate economic trends and hybrid threat activities

Read ›
Resilience

Hybrid CoE and the JRC launch a new model to build resilience against hybrid threats

Read ›