Danish security experts and PET are urging ordinary Danes to watch for and report unusual activity, after the intelligence service warned of concrete Russian sabotage plans against companies in Denmark.
DR reports that experts are pointing to small, everyday observations that may matter in the changed threat picture. Examples include cars parked repeatedly in unusual places, people photographing a company, fence or gate, and break-in attempts where nothing is stolen.
Rasmus Dahlberg, associate professor of societal security at Roskilde University, told DR the guiding principle is simple. People should notice things that deviate from the normal picture, he said. A single mark on a lock is not evidence of sabotage, but the overall pattern can be relevant.
Dahlberg also noted that the threat is not only physical. Foreign state actors may try to recruit people through digital networks, starting with a seemingly harmless task such as photographing a specific place or object. According to him, such tasks can escalate once a person has agreed to the first one.
PET’s warning about Russian plans
The advice follows a public warning from the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, PET. As reported by Euronews, citing PET via AFP, Russian security services are actively preparing acts of sabotage aimed at Denmark’s defense industry. Companies linked to military aid for Ukraine are described as especially exposed.
TV 2 adds that PET names defense-industry companies involved in supplying military aid to Ukraine as the primary targets. PET’s counter-espionage chief, Emil Græsholm, said authorities have uncovered concrete Russian plans and preparations against companies in Denmark, per Berlingske. According to Græsholm, the threat was serious enough to make public.
PET has also identified concrete examples of Russian attempts to recruit Danish citizens online. As noted by The Straits Times, citing PET, the recruitment takes place on social media and gaming platforms. The tasks involve photographing companies or infrastructure that can be used in sabotage planning.
DR’s legal correspondent Louise Dalsgaard writes that PET’s message is also a warning about a shift. The concern is no longer only specially trained agents, but ordinary Danes with no ties to Russia acting as proxies. Similar concerns have previously led Denmark to ban Russian software over espionage fears.
What experts say people should not do
Dahlberg told DR that people should not confront individuals, follow cars or try to investigate anything themselves. If something appears concretely suspicious, it can be reported to the police. He said that if nobody reports it, nobody finds out about it.
He compared the approach to how Danes have learned to react to an abandoned bag at a railway station. The observation is passed on to someone who can assess it. Sorting the information and deciding what matters is the authorities’ task.
