Europol has released its 2025 serious and organised crime threat assessment, which discusses how Russia and other state actors are driving an increase in politically motivated cyber-attacks and sabotage of infrastructure and public institutions in the EU. In connection with this release, Andy Norton, European Cyber Risk Officer at Armis, shares his views on cyberwarfare no longer being about one-off attacks – but instead a continuous, hybrid assault designed to erode trust and destabilise nations over time.
Comment on Europol report that Russia is using criminal networks to drive an increase in sabotage acts by Andy Norton, European Cyber Risk Officer at Armis
“Cyberwarfare is no longer perceived as rare, high profile, one-off attacks – it’s a continuous, hybrid assault designed to erode trust and destabilise nations over time. Europol’s latest report confirms this shift, with Russia and its proxies using AI and automation to scale cyber threats like never before. Critical infrastructure – healthcare, energy, and supply chains – isn’t just collateral damage, it’s a prime target.
“A ‘set it and forget it’ approach to cybersecurity that relies on legacy point products and siloed security solutions is no longer adequate. Organisations must prioritise immediately gaining a comprehensive, real-time understanding of their environment and their extended attack surface. With this insight, security teams are enabled to proactively mitigate their cyber risk exposure using AI to anticipate and counter evolving tactics before they impact their organisation. These threats are relentless, our defences must be too”.
