A serious situation

Sweden’s security is affected by the troubled international environment and the serious security situation could deteriorate further. This is a matter of the actions of foreign powers and the still elevated terrorist threat, as well as shortcomings in the protection of critical assets, shortcomings that are exploited by threat actors.

Infrastructure-related incidents

In the past year, there have been several incidents, sometimes referred to as hybrid threats, that have received a lot of media attention. For example, there have been cyber attacks, drone incidents, and incidents of cable damage in the Baltic Sea. Through national and international collaboration, the Swedish Security Service carries out extensive work to assess and investigate these incidents.

A greater risk-taking tendency by Russia

In the past year, Russian security and intelligence services have taken an increasingly offensive stance against European countries, which affects the security situation in Sweden. Russia is trying to find ways to abate the European determination to support Ukraine, circumvent the sanctions directed at them, and find new methods of intelligence gathering when most countries in Europe have expelled Russian intelligence officers.

Cyber threats as a tool

Through targeted cyber attacks, countries like China, Iran, and Russia are able to gain access to information related to Swedish security, political decision-making, and the activities of dissidents. This information, in turn, can be used to gather information about vulnerabilities or in attempts to exert influence. Foreign powers are also interested in devices owned by private individuals, such as mobile phones and computers, that could be used in order to carry out targeted intelligence gathering or to build anonymisation networks for the purpose of continuing attacks or influence campaigns.

A changed terrorist threat

he terrorist threat to Sweden is still assessed to be elevated. The ideologically motivated threat from violent Islamist extremism and violent right-wing extremism remains. There are also tendencies towards a more diversified terrorist threat where new actors, driven by international developments or by a fascination for violence, could become perpetrators. The Swedish Security Service also notes state-sponsored attacks and attacks in which Sweden is used as an arena in a conflict that is taking place elsewhere in the world.

A continuous adaptation of protection

The Swedish NATO membership and the expansion of Sweden’s total defence entail a more robust national protection, but also new critical assets and new potential vulnerabilities. The factors related to Sweden’s protection needs change over time. Resilience to threat actors can be increased by continuously adapting protective security.

High demand for expertise

Within the field of security-sensitive activities, there is a high demand for personnel with suitable training. The need for expertise within protective security will increase due to technological advances and international developments. A lack of expertise may cause security - sensitive activities to become exposed and vulnerable.

Increased polarisation

The Swedish Security Service notes a continued subversive threat to Sweden, where Swedish democracy is at risk of being challenged and weakened by, for example, anti-government movements. These types of actors are trying to create division in Sweden, through both lawful and unlawful means. In today’s security situation, small incidents can flare up in ways that are difficult to predict. When this happens, it is important to evaluate sources of information and not spread misleading information.