Not just Russia. Hybrid wars have other protagonists playing the role of “bad guys”: besides Moscow, China, Iran, North Korea. This is a threat that undermines democracy by presenting numbers that should lead us to take action as soon as possible. In 2024, 1,979 cyber events and 573 incidents were successfully managed – with calculator in hand, that’s 48 bugs per month – with growth of 40% and 89% respectively compared to 2023.
In the first half of 2025, 1,549 cyber incidents were recorded, an increase of 53% compared to the first six months of last year. Meanwhile, the accident rate jumped to 98%. These are the startling figures contained in Defense Minister Guido Crosetto’s dossier, a 125-page paper that was on the table of the Supreme Defense Council yesterday and which Crosettoo will deliver to Chambers today. In the dossier, the minister also indicated a way to bridge the gap with more advanced countries in fighting hybrid threats, a way to protect Italy from risks as much as possible. And first of all, it involves a hacking squad, which operates under the Ministry of Defense, and has “at least 5,000” people. “The first objective – wrote Croseto in his file – could consist of the creation of an initial capacity of 1,200–1,500 units, of which about 75% is dedicated to operational tasks, to guarantee continuity of action 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year”.
Therefore, according to the minister, it is necessary to establish a “Hybrid Warfare Countermeasures Center”. But we must act quickly, because the real risks are very large. This can be seen, for example, in the section of the document that indicates the healthcare sector as the sector most affected by cyber attacks, “with potentially very serious impacts on emergency rooms, intensive care, operating rooms and life-saving care”.
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