Threat of far-right terrorism on rise in Finland: Supo

The far-right group or Islamic fundamentalist groups pose the threat of terrorist attack in Finland, said the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (SUPO).

According to the Supo Yearbook 2020 published on Tuesday, the threat of terrorism in Finland has remained at level 2 (elevated) on the four-point scale, with the most prominent change occurring in the overview of far-right terrorism.

The coronavirus pandemic encouraged growth in cyber espionage, with Supo detecting exceptionally intensive state-sponsored cyber espionage operations targeting the formulation of Finland’s foreign and security policy.

Supo has assessed the threat of terrorism in Finland as elevated, corresponding to level two on the four-point scale. While this threat level has remained unchanged from the preceding year, conditions of the extreme right are giving greater cause for concern.

The danger of extreme right-wing terrorism has grown in Finland and Supo has identified far-right operators with the capacity and motivation to mount a terrorist attack. Some indications of concrete preparations have also emerged.

“The far-right counter-terrorism targets identified by Supo are typically linked to the extreme right-wing international online environment,” said Supo Director Antti Pelttari.

The threat of radical Islamist terrorism has remained at the previous level. The ISIL terrorist organisation is still able to inspire its supporters, and is also seeking to mount attacks in Europe, said the yearbook.

The foreign-fighter phenomenon has increased and strengthened the international connections of radical Islamist operators in Finland. Several people returned to Finland from the Syrian conflict zone in 2020. Most of these returnees are likely to continue operating in radical Islamist networks, for example, by recruiting supporters and disseminating extremist ideology.

Supo also monitors and assesses the threat to Finland’s national security posed by the far-left movement and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which the European Union classifies as a terrorist organisation.

In Finland the PKK has focused on actively supporting its operations in Kurdish regions. A few volunteers from Finland have joined armed organisations of Kurdish background and travelled to the Syrian conflict zone.

The coronavirus pandemic shifted many functions of society onto remote connections, leading to an increase in information available online. Some intensive state-sponsored cyber espionage operations targeting preparations for formulating Finland’s foreign and security policy were detected in 2020.

Supo issued early warnings to government organisations concerning cyber espionage operations that appeared to be seeking intrusion into e-mail services.