‘Security through obscurity’: the Swedish cabin on the frontline of a possible hybrid war
Share:
Amid claims of sabotage of undersea cables, a small wooden structure houses a key cog in Europe’s digital connectivity. At the end of an unmarked path on a tiny island at the edge of Stockholm’s extensive Baltic Sea archipelago lies an inconspicuous little wooden cabin, painted a deep shade of red. Water gently laps the snow-dusted rocks, and the smell of pine fills the air.
![[Miranda Bryant]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/12/03/Miranda_Bryant_Next_Gen.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The site offers few clues to the geopolitical drama that has gripped Scandinavia in recent months, driven by accusations of infrastructure sabotage. But in fact the cabin houses a key cog in Europe’s digital connectivity, and a point of vulnerability in a potential hybrid war: a datacentre that amplifies the signal from a 1,615-mile fibre-optic cable running from northern Sweden to Berlin.
![[View inside the datacentre, with wiring running around at the edge of the ceiling above grey metal doors housing the computer systems]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/af848d371270dc65c8ca54d7d2acf73fab91f6e4/0_331_8192_4915/master/8192.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Last month, two nearby fibre-optic cables were severed, prompting a continuing investigation by Swedish authorities. Western intelligence officials from multiple countries have said they are confident a Chinese ship caused the cuts after leaving the Russian port of Ust-Luga, though views differ on whether the cuts were accidental or potentially deliberate.
![[Daniel Aldstam, Patrik Gylesjö and Pär Jansson stand posing for a picture alongside metal security gates at the datacentre]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/497373a277259468027f5c1e5421148af53a40c2/1051_800_7137_4283/master/7137.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Sweden has experienced a rise in hybrid warfare – attacks on an adversary using methods other than traditional military action – blamed on pro-Russia groups. With governments in northern Europe on high alert over hybrid Russian activity, the Guardian was given exclusive access to the Stockholm datacentre site.
![[A man holds up a fibre-optic cable that has been severed to show its interior]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d3e9f9cdc7a47e017aef0903b0ae739a5c5c196c/766_965_7131_4279/master/7131.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
