Hybrid Threats

Definition

Hybrid threats are harmful activities that are planned and carried out with malign intent. They aim to undermine a target, such as a state or an institution, through various means, often combined. Such means include information manipulation, cyberattacks, economic influence or coercion, covert political manoeuvring, coercive diplomacy, or threats of military force. Hybrid threats describe a wide array of harmful activities, such as blended modalities, simultaneity, fusion, and criminality, with different goals, ranging from influence operations and interference all the way to hybrid warfare.

 “A type of threat that combines conventional, irregular and asymmetric activities in time and space.”
(NATO agreed)

 Connection to CIMIC:

Hybrid threats, an overall challenge of the Alliance, do not only address a single target or domain but also influence CIMIC as a joint function and a continuous task in any domain simultaneously. CIMIC’s crucial role in enhancing coordination between military forces and non-military actors to counter those threats effectively includes communication and collaboration to find, for example, solutions on a governmental or local level for economic coercion or disinformation amongst the population.

Source

https://www.hybridcoe.fi/hybrid-threats-as-a-phenomenon/

NATO Term

Key words

Hybrid Threats

Malign Intent

Undermine

Information Manipulation

Cyberattacks

Covert Political Manoeuvring

Coordinate

Non-Military Actors

Solutions

Economic Coercion