Norway braces for unprecedented foreign intelligence threats by 2025
The head of Norwegian intelligence said we have not been as exposed to the effects of foreign intelligence activities as we will be in 2025. According to Oslo, the main threats are Russia and China.
Norwegian special services warn that in 2025, the threat from foreign countries will reach its highest level in decades. The main threats identified are Russia and China. Moscow is expected to focus on sabotaging civilian infrastructure, while Beijing is concentrating on activities in the teleinformatics sphere.
Russia and China at the forefront of threats
Vice Admiral Nils Andreas Stensoenes, commander of the Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS), said we have not been as exposed to the effects of foreign intelligence activities as we will be in 2025. Our adversaries, the PAP, know where our vulnerable points are and how to reach them. We must be prepared for unprecedented events.
Norwegian services emphasise that Russia uses local criminal groups to carry out hostile acts in Scandinavia. This requires closer cooperation with the police, who have experience dismantling criminal environments.
Beate Gangaas, leading the Police Security Service (PST), points out that Russia also aims to reduce support for aid to Ukraine. - Our task is to prevent foreign countries from influencing Norway's constitutional stability and security. However, we know that China and Russia use so-called proxy entities. These are private individuals who, under the guise of objective statements, convey content harmful to Western democracies, aligning with the narrative of Moscow or Beijing. They can include internet influencers, independent journalists, and even leading entrepreneurs and billionaires, said the PST chief.
According to Norwegian services, China will intensify its intelligence activities in Norway, focusing on obtaining data about citizens. Beijing is expected to disseminate content that is favourable to itself through popular shopping platforms. Norwegian counterintelligence believes that China will become a challenge in the long term.
Norwegian services also warn of threats from Islamic radicals and the far-right, who focus on youth. Both groups reach young people through social media, increasing the risk of radicalisation. This is how perpetrators of attacks on Israeli institutions in Copenhagen and Stockholm were recruited in 2024.
