Finland’s security service warned on Tuesday that extremist violence among young people and attempts by organised crime groups to enter state institutions pose growing risks to national security. The warning appeared in the latest national security review issued by the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service, known as Supo.
The report states that Russia remains the central intelligence threat to Finland while new risks arise from social media algorithms, artificial intelligence and increasing segregation in cities.
Juha Martelius, head of Supo, presented the assessment in Helsinki on Tuesday. The agency kept Finland’s terrorism threat level at three on a five-point scale. Authorities classify this level as elevated.
The review states that the most likely attack scenario involves individuals or small groups inspired by radical Islamist or far-right ideologies. Supo notes that violent extremism among young people has increased across Western countries.
“Several serious cases involve young participants in extremist activity,” the report states. Supo warns that online environments play a central role in radicalisation.
The agency reports that interest in violence among vulnerable young people often develops in internet communities where users share extremist content and encourage self-destructive behaviour.
The security review also highlights rising tensions linked to far-right rhetoric and identifies new concerns about language used by far-left groups. Supo states that young supporters of far-right ideology present a growing risk of severe violence directed at perceived ideological opponents such as minorities or political leaders.
Russia remains the most significant intelligence threat to Finland. According to Supo, Russian intelligence seeks information about Finnish foreign policy, the country’s NATO membership, border policies and critical infrastructure.
Martelius emphasizes that Russia’s strategic ambitions will persist regardless of the outcome of the war in Ukraine. If the conflict ends, intelligence and influence operations that Russia now concentrates on Ukraine may shift toward other regions.
China also conducts intelligence activity against Finland. Supo reports that Chinese operations include human intelligence and cyber espionage aimed at strengthening Beijing’s geopolitical position.
The agency also points to risks linked to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers operating in the Baltic Sea. Some vessels travel without proper insurance or safety standards, raising the risk of accidents in busy shipping lanes.
Supo emphasises that not every unusual incident in the Baltic Sea results from foreign influence. Cable damage incidents in the region, widely discussed in recent months, have occurred periodically throughout the 2000s and do not automatically indicate state sabotage.
The report also raises concerns about organised crime seeking deeper access to state structures. Martelius said security checks have uncovered applicants to the Police University College with links to criminal organisations.
“One of the most common connections relates to motorcycle gangs,” Martelius said.
Supo conducts more than 100,000 security clearance checks each year. The agency states that criminal groups increasingly attempt to infiltrate sectors such as ports and security authorities.
Another theme in the review involves social segregation in large cities. Supo warns that concentration of poverty and immigrant populations in certain neighbourhoods may increase the risk of radicalisation and street gang formation.
The agency notes that segregation does not automatically lead to crime or extremism. Yet clusters of disadvantage may expose young people to recruitment by gangs or extremist groups.
According to the report, such recruitment often promises money, status or belonging. Violent extremists recruit young people who seek meaning or a community with shared beliefs.
Cloud services and AI pose new risks
Digital infrastructure forms another concern. Supo calls for Finland to develop domestic cloud computing solutions in order to protect sensitive government data.
The agency warns that reliance on foreign cloud service providers weakens visibility over who accesses stored information. State actors increasingly attempt to breach major cloud systems to obtain client data, the report states.
Artificial intelligence also appears as a growing security issue. Supo reports that hostile actors already employ commercial AI tools to produce polarising content on social media platforms.
Language models make it easier to conduct information operations in smaller languages such as Finnish. Authorities warn that low public awareness of AI tools may deepen online radicalisation if users rely on conversations with automated systems.
A report published by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra links social media algorithms to risks for democratic debate. Drawing on research by the British Behavioural Insights Team and Finnish data company Bondata, the study found that 67 per cent of political content recommended to young users in Finland leans toward the political right.
The research created virtual social media profiles aged 18 to 24 on TikTok, Instagram and X to observe what political content algorithms suggested in Finland, France and Romania.
The findings show that provocative or emotional political posts receive the most promotion. About half of European young adults report feelings such as anger, fear or disappointment when encountering political content online.
Around one third of young adults in Finland report regular exposure to misinformation, hate speech or conspiracy theories in their social media feeds.
Sitra states that bot accounts spreading harmful content have increased in recent years and that much of the material circulating online now originates from artificial intelligence systems.
European regulators have already begun action against major technology platforms. The European Union’s Digital Services Act requires companies to disclose how advertising targets users and who pays for political ads. The European Commission warned TikTok earlier this year that failure to reduce addictive features could result in fines of up to six per cent of the global turnover of its parent company ByteDance.
HT
