European intelligence agencies are racing to trace the origin of coordinated bomb threats that targeted dozens of flights across the continent, with officials telling the Financial Times that a Russian link is the most likely possibility. The deluge of anonymous emails forced multiple scrambles of fighter jets and significant disruption to air travel, prompting calls for a united front against what officials are calling a hybrid war.
Russia in the Crosshairs as Europe Faces Sky-High Disruption
The sheer scale of the operation is staggering. Thirty-five bomb alerts hit flights in three days, a clear signal of a coordinated campaign. Investigators believe the perpetrators are either pro-Kremlin activists or hacker groups. This suspicion is not born in a vacuum; it follows a clear pattern. In October 2023, over 1,500 false alarms struck schools and kindergartens in Lithuania, an event for which Vilnius authorities blamed a “state actor” without naming it, while intelligence circles pointed to Russian activists, likely encouraged by the Kremlin. The Financial Times reports that while an official attribution is still a long way off, the motive, operational methods, and initial clues all point east.
The threats themselves were rudimentary yet effective. Sent from various anonymous accounts, the emails forced airlines and airports to initiate emergency protocols, scrambling jets and causing widespread delays. One threat targeting Rome’s Fiumicino Airport was attributed to the Russian nationalist group Male State, though its founder, Vladislav Pozdnyakov, has publicly denied any involvement of the organization. This highlights a key complicating factor: the attribution game. As the Financial Times notes, even if the culprits are indeed pro-Kremlin activists, it remains to be established whether Russian intelligence services directed, encouraged, or simply authorized the operations. The goal, according to cybersecurity and intelligence expert Pierluigi Paganini speaking to ANSA, is not necessarily to cause mass casualties, but to sow fear and maximize media exposure.
From the Sky to the Supermarket Freezer: The Escalation of Hybrid Warfare
This aerial disruption is not an isolated incident but the latest front in a broader, more insidious conflict. In recent weeks, a series of cyberattacks hit the refrigeration systems of supermarkets and food companies, first in France and subsequently in over a dozen other European countries, including Italy. The hacktivist groups NoName057(16) and Z-Pentest have claimed responsibility for the attacks in a video circulated on social media, though the claim is viewed with caution: the Telegram channels from which it came are currently unavailable, NoName057(16) is known above all for using other attack methods, and an opportunistic attempt to take credit for an operation conducted by others cannot be ruled out.
The consequences of these attacks are tangible and growing. Sky TG24 cites the 2026 IBM report on the cost of data breaches, which shows the average price for an organization in Italy has risen to €3.55 million, with the energy sector facing an average hit of €4.65 million. This hybrid warfare is exacting a heavy economic toll, from wasted food to grounded flights. But the real danger, as Paganini warns, is the escalation. The recent attack on the refrigeration units used by a blood bank in France, through one of its suppliers and quickly contained, demonstrates how this tactic could be expanded to target the preservation of blood, medicines and vaccines, or hospital operating rooms, directly threatening public health.
Governments, and the Fading Illusion of Safety
“Guerra ibrida,” or hybrid war, is the term being used to describe this new form of conflict, one that blends cyberattacks, disinformation, and physical threats to destabilize societies without a single shot being fired. As HuffPost Italia reports, digital ethics expert Mariarosaria Taddeo, who teaches Digital Ethics and Defence Technologies at the Oxford Internet Institute, describes this as “a strategy that you only understand when it’s too late.”
It’s evident a coordinated strategy is seeking to maximize media exposure, instilling fear and distrust in institutions. After the fridges and the bomb threats, I expect targets more exposed on the security front to be hit, like industrial systems, city traffic lights, electricity meters, and ticketing booths.
Pierluigi Paganini, Cybersecurity Expert, ANSA
The European Union is acutely aware of its vulnerability. ANSA notes that Europe lags in securing its Operational Technology (OT)—the hardware and software that controls physical industrial processes. This leaves critical infrastructure at risk. Together with the world geopolitical and economic situation, this can create a “perfect storm.” Paganini warns that other malevolent actors, like Iran, could join the fray, especially if Europe provides bases for a potential U.S. military action against the country.
The Fog of War and the Cost of Complacency
While investigations continue, the psychological impact on the public is undeniable. The constant drumbeat of threats—from a bomb on a plane to spoiled food in a supermarket—erodes a fundamental sense of security. Taddeo’s warning is stark: the risk is not just of physical damage but of a corrosion of democratic values. She cautions against responding to these hybrid threats with "more surveillance and control," which are "enemies of privacy and autonomy." The challenge for European governments is to improve security without sacrificing the very freedoms these threats aim to destroy.
The immediate task is clear: increase collaboration and information sharing between states, a process that has already begun. Governments must work to inflict a blow on some element of the chain involved, identifying a center from which an email was sent or a person involved. For the public, the responsibility is to remain vigilant against the inevitable wave of disinformation that follows such events. As Paganini notes, “I expect in the coming hours an increase in decontextualized and false information circulated through social media, search engines, or dubious sites.” The war being fought is not just in the air or in code, but for the very fabric of civil society.
