Global Intelligence 2025 Year in Review

🔍 Global Intelligence Yearly Wrap-Up 2025 | Terrorism, Espionage, Foreign Interference & Hybrid Warfare

This special Year in Review episode of Global Intelligence Weekly Wrap-Up steps back from the weekly headlines to examine the national security and intelligence trends that defined 2025 — and what they tell us about the threat environment heading into 2026.

Over the past year, Neil Bisson — retired CSIS intelligence officer and Director of the Global Intelligence Knowledge Network — analyzed dozens of stories involving terrorism, foreign interference, espionage, insider threats, and hybrid warfare.
Individually, these stories made headlines.

Taken together, they reveal patterns.

This episode revisits the most consequential developments of 2025, including:

The acceleration of extremist violence and the global rise in antisemitism

Persistent foreign interference targeting democratic systems

Espionage and insider-threat cases linked to China

Russian hybrid and grey-zone tactics aimed at critical infrastructure

The episode also looks forward, providing actionable intelligence — the indicators, warning signs, and trends listeners should be watching for in 2026, based on what adversaries have already demonstrated.

🎧 Before you hit play, consider these questions:

❓ Why are terrorist radicalization timelines getting shorter — and why are younger individuals increasingly involved?

❓ How does antisemitism function as an early warning indicator for extremist violence?

❓ Why does modern foreign interference rarely look like classic espionage?

❓ What makes insider threats one of the most difficult intelligence challenges to detect?

❓ How are Russian intelligence services using hybrid and grey-zone tactics to apply pressure without open conflict?

❓ What warning signs should governments, institutions, and citizens watch for in 2026?

These questions — and many more — are examined through open-source reporting, intelligence tradecraft, and real-world national security experience.
If you value serious, independent intelligence analysis that goes beyond headlines, consider supporting the podcast on Buzzsprout.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 — Intro: Global Intelligence Yearly Wrap-Up
01:47 — Extremist Terrorism & the Acceleration Effect (Global Antisemitism)
06:05 — 2026 Outlook: Terrorism & Early-Warning Indicators
07:45 — Foreign Interference: Influence, Access & Adaptation
11:35 — 2026 Outlook: Interference & Democratic Resilience
13:05 — Espionage & Insider Threats (China Focus)
16:00 — 2026 Outlook: Insider Risk & Strategic Competition
17:30 — Hybrid Warfare & Grey-Zone Operations (Russia)
18:45 — 2026 Outlook: Sabotage, Resilience & Infrastructure
19:10 — Outro

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Producing Global Intelligence Weekly Wrap-Up requires continuous monitoring of open-source reporting, detailed research, and careful analysis to deliver clear, accurate, and independent intelligence insight every week.

If you find value in this work, please consider supporting the podcast:

👉 https://www.buzzsprout.com/2336717/support

Your one-time or ongoing contribution directly supports the research, analysis, and independence of the Global Intelligence Weekly Wrap-Up.

Transcript

2025 12 27 Global Intelligence Yearly Wrap Up

INTRO

Welcome to a special edition of the Global Intelligence Weekly Wrap-Up.

This episode is our Yearly Wrap-Up — a step back from the week-to-week headlines to look at the intelligence and national-security trends that defined 2025, and what they tell us about the threat environment heading into 2026.

Over the past year, Neil Bisson — retired CSIS intelligence officer and Director of the Global Intelligence Knowledge Network — has examined dozens of stories involving terrorism, foreign interference, espionage, insider threats, and hybrid warfare. Individually, those stories made headlines. 

Taken together, they reveal something more important: patterns.

In this episode, we’ll revisit the most significant developments discussed throughout 2025 — from the acceleration of extremist violence and the global rise in antisemitism, to persistent foreign interference in democratic systems, to espionage and insider-threat cases linked to China, and the growing use of hybrid and grey-zone tactics by Russian intelligence services and their proxies.

We’ll also look forward, drawing on those real-world examples to provide actionable intelligence — the indicators, warning signs, and trends listeners should be watching for in 2026, based on what adversaries have already shown they are willing and able to do.

This is not speculation. It’s an assessment grounded in open-source reporting, intelligence tradecraft, and a full year of analysis.

Let’s get started.

MUSIC

Hello, and welcome to a special edition of the Global Intelligence Weekly Wrap-Up.

Actually, this episode is more accurately titled the Global Intelligence Yearly Wrap-Up.

Over the past year, I’ve spent every week tracking, analyzing, and breaking down open-source reporting on terrorism, foreign interference, espionage, and sabotage.

For this year-end episode, we’re going to step back and look at what I assess to be the most significant national-security and intelligence trends that defined 2025, using the specific stories we covered throughout the year.

I’ll also provide a look ahead — what I refer to as “Actionable Intelligence” — based on what the open-source reporting tells us we need to be aware for 2026.

So, without further delay, let’s get started.

For our first segment we’ll be discussing Extremist Terrorism & the Acceleration Effect
(Including the global rise in antisemitism)

One of the clearest signals in 2025 was that terrorism did not disappear — it evolved.

Early in the year, a Canadian threat assessment reported that the terrorist threat to Canada has rarely been higher. 

And CSIS Director Dan Rogers stated that an alarming number of terrorism investigations involved individuals under the age of 18. 

These references did not relate to a single catastrophic attack. 

They reflect the volume, persistence, and disruption of terrorism in Canada and other Western democracies.

When intelligence and law-enforcement agencies are consistently interrupting plots, stopping travel, or arresting individuals before attacks occur, the public often sees nothing. 

From an intelligence perspective, however, that “nothing” is evidence of ongoing intent.

What really changed significantly in 2025 was speed in which these plots developed.

Radicalization timelines continued to compress. 

Individuals moved from consuming extremist material online to real-world action faster than we’ve seen in previous years. 

Terrorist organizations no longer need to centrally plan attacks. 

Instead, terrorist organizations like ISIS, act more like extremist accelerators — encouraging, validating, and amplifying violence carried out by individuals or small, self-directed clusters.

This acceleration effect is inseparable from the global rise in antisemitism.

Across multiple Western democracies, antisemitic incidents increased sharply through late 2024 and into 2025. 

Political and social discomfort around clearly naming and confronting these acts created space for escalation. 

When hateful narratives are normalized, the psychological barrier to violence drops.

The clearest illustration of this came at the end of 2025, with an antisemitic mass-casualty terrorist attack at a Jewish community event near Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.

The attack took place during Hanukkah, at a public and symbolic gathering. 

More than a dozen people were killed, and at least 40 were wounded. 

Victims ranged from children to elderly attendees.

The attackers were identified as Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed Akram. 

This was a father-and-son attack, requiring no sophisticated logistics and no international coordination. 

Yet the impact was immediate and global.

The location, timing, and target were deliberate. 

This was symbolic violence designed to terrorize not just the immediate victims, but Jewish communities watching around the world.

This is the modern terrorist threat: low-complexity, high-visibility violence, optimized for fear, media amplification, and copycat potential.

Now to the Actionable Intelligence on this issue going into 2026: 

Looking ahead, we should expect terrorist-inspired violence to continue along accelerated pathways.

Intelligence and law-enforcement agencies will need to remain alert to shorter radicalization cycles, particularly among younger individuals, and continued targeting of symbolic locations tied to religion, identity, or culture.

Antisemitism must be treated as an early-warning indicator, not a social issue. 

Historically, rising rhetoric almost always precedes operational activity.

For communities and organizations, visible security measures, threat reporting, and preparedness planning are not overreactions — they demonstrate a needed level of resilience. 

The absence of attacks does not mean the absence of threat; it often means that the threat may just be actively managed.

Extremist violence does not exist in a vacuum.

While terrorism captures attention through shock and immediacy, the broader threat environment is shaped by quieter, longer-term efforts to influence how societies think, vote, and govern.

The same openness exploited by violent extremists is also targeted by foreign states seeking influence without overt violence.

Which brings us to our next thematic threat: Foreign interference.

MUSIC

Foreign Interference is the topic of our next thematic threat for this year. 

In 2025, foreign interference continued to mature into a persistent strategic challenge, rather than a series of isolated incidents.

In January 2025, Canada confirmed that the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections, or SITE, Task Force — comprising CSIS, the RCMP, CSE, and Global Affairs Canada — would monitor a major federal political leadership race for signs of foreign interference. 

This was not an overreaction. 

It was an acknowledgement that democratic processes are now under mounting threat from foreign interference and influence.

Foreign states understand that shaping outcomes does not require hacking ballots or installing agents in Parliament. 

It requires persistent pressure applied through legal, social, and informational channels.

A major public review released in early 2025 concluded that there was no evidence of Members of Parliament knowingly acting as foreign agents. 

That conclusion is often misunderstood. 

It does not mean interference isn’t occurring. 

It means interference has adapted.

Modern foreign interference rarely looks like classic espionage. 

It operates through influence networks, proxy actors, economic leverage, and narrative shaping — staying just inside legal boundaries while still achieving strategic effect.

I previously discussed the cases of Chandra Ayra and Ruby Dhalia both Members of Parliament who demonstrated potential and real compromise regarding their positions and the Influence of the Indian Government. 

Canada is not the only country affected by foreign interference and influence.
 
Comparative cases from allied countries reinforce this reality. 

Australian reporting and court documents demonstrated the reckless foreign interference involving a Chinese national, including unexplained wealth and covert influence activity. 

The unnamed woman is charged with reckless foreign interference under Australia’s foreign interference laws, and her identity is currently suppressed by court order.

These cases show how political access, financial inducement, and opaque relationships can blur together.

Foreign interference is a cumulative force multiplying action. 

It’s not a single interaction that changes political outcomes. 

Repeated pressure, subtle messaging, and long-term access do.

2026 Actionable Intelligence

In 2026, interference efforts are likely to focus on divisive issues, including referendums, provincial separation narratives, and emotionally charged policy debates. 

Diaspora communities will remain key targets of foreign states, who will use individuals with multiple citizenships to access political parties and governments.

There should be increased attention to security screening within municipal, provincial, and federal political systems, as foreign states — including China, India, Iran, Pakistan, and Russia — continue seeking proxies or compromised access.

For citizens, the strongest defense remains skepticism toward narratives engineered to provoke urgency or outrage. 

Interference succeeds when reflection time is compressed and emotions override scrutiny.

While foreign interference shapes the environment from the outside, espionage exploits it from within.

Where interference seeks to influence decisions, espionage seeks access — often through individuals already trusted inside institutions.

In 2025, that convergence became increasingly clear.

MUSIC

We move onto the next National Security threat that made the list for 2025, Espionage & Insider Threats (With emphasis on China where applicable)

Espionage in 2025 reinforced a reality that intelligence professionals have long understood: the most damaging activity is rarely dramatic.

Several countries uncovered long-running espionage cases tied to China.

In Germany, prosecutors brought espionage charges against Herwig F., Ina F., and Thomas R., accusing the trio of spying for China’s intelligence services by passing on sensitive, dual-use and military-relevant technology.

These cases focused on access and positioning, not immediate theft.

In Canada, a former Hydro-Québec researcher named Yuesheng Wang, 38, went on trial in 2025 on charges of economic espionage under the Security of Information Act, as well as related Criminal Code offences, after an internal probe in 2022 found unauthorized academic publications linked to his work at Hydro-Québec’s Varennes research institute.

The research involved advanced energy storage and electrification — a sector central to both economic competitiveness and national security. 

The alleged activity did not involve cinematic spy tradecraft.  

It involved trust, access, and incremental knowledge transfer — exactly the type of insider threat that is hardest to detect.

Espionage tradecraft also continued to modernize. 

Reporting in 2025 showed Chinese intelligence-linked actors using social-media platforms such as LinkedIn to identify and recruit U.S. military personnel.

At the same time, Chinese state-linked cyber actors associated with the Salt Typhoon campaign maintained persistent access to U.S. National Guard networks for nearly a year, prioritizing long-term positioning over disruption.

Espionage today is about patience — being present inside systems before a crisis occurs.

2026 Actionable Intelligence

In 2026, insider threats will remain one of the most underestimated risks. 

Intelligence and private-sector security professionals must watch for behavioral indicators — unexplained collaborations, unauthorized disclosures, unusual travel, or sudden shifts in professional focus.

Espionage will continue targeting research, energy, artificial intelligence, and defense-adjacent innovation. 

Insider-risk identification and enhanced security screening should be treated as core operational requirements, not compliance exercises.

Espionage against public and private institutions is no longer episodic. It is emblematic of sustained strategic competition.

Espionage is about access and advantage over time.

Grey-zone and hybrid warfare are about pressure, disruption, and intimidation, often without clear attribution.

In 2025, that approach was most clearly demonstrated through Russian hybrid operations.

MUSIC

Hybrid Warfare & Grey-Zone Operations (Russian intelligence services and proxy playbooks)

By 2025, grey-zone tactics were no longer theoretical.

European intelligence reporting made clear that Russian-linked actors increasingly rely on criminal networks and non-official agents to conduct sabotage, arson, and disruption. 

This outsourcing model expands reach while preserving one of the main advantages of these clandestine sabotage operations: Plausible deniability.

On April 7, 2025, a cyberattack linked to Russian actors temporarily seized control of floodgates at a dam in Bremanger, western Norway, releasing water for approximately four hours before authorities intervened. 

The goal was not mass casualties — it was intimidation and to send a signal, this is the kind of control Russia has over Norway.  

Maritime infrastructure faced similar pressure tactics. 

In 2025, Finnish authorities charged crew members of the tanker Eagle S for allegedly dragging anchors and damaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea. 

Repair costs were significant, and attribution of the attack was contested, which was precisely the point.

Hybrid grey zone tactics operate below traditional thresholds. 

They test the resilience of the adversary’s strength, place strain on public confidence, and force repeated responses from the government being attacked, without escalation.

On the day of recording this episode, Russia continues to target Ukraine and Canada has just announced 2.5 billion in economic to Ukraine. 

Canada, and other North American supporters of Ukraine must realize that Russia sees them as viable targets for grey zone tactics and hybrid warfare. 

The continued warnings from Intelligence Services in Europe, including Germany and the United Kingdom show that Russian sabotage operations will continue against critical infrastructure. 

So, what is the Actionable Intelligence for these sabotage operations perpetrated by Russia going into 2026? 

Next year, we should expect continued hybrid activity targeting infrastructure that is difficult to defend comprehensively — undersea cables, energy systems, logistics hubs, financial institutions, and industrial control systems.

Criminal proxies and low-skill recruits will remain the favored tools of Russian miliary and civilian Intelligence Services. 

For this kind of sabotage, the psychological impact is part of the operation. 

Hybrid warfare succeeds when fear spreads faster than facts.

For Canada and its allies, resilience remains the answer: incorporated redundancies, rapid restoration capability, and clear, informative communication with the public will all help to minimize grey zone operations on North American soil.

MUSIC

So, now that we’ve covered the major National Security Threats of 2025, what does all of this mean going into 2026?

When we look across all four threat streams together, a single pattern emerges. 

The threats facing Canada, the Five Eyes, and other Western nations are not entirely new — but they are moving more rapidly, are more normalized, and much harder to separate from our everyday lives.

Extremist violence is being accelerated through inspiration and the ease of communication in social media and online.

Foreign interference continues to bend political systems to the will and needs of adversarial states, especially China, India and Iran.

Espionage is infiltrating the private and public sectors like never before. 

By exploiting trust, manipulating weak security screening practices and allowing individuals in positions of confidence to continue to work unquestioned and unchallenged.

Russia is using hybrid warfare and grey zone tactics, through proxy groups and individuals, to slowly exhaust the resources and intelligence capabilities of western societies.

In 2026, recognizing the patterns relating to these national security threats early — before disruption becomes crisis — will be essential.

And that is part of the mission of the Global Intelligence Knowledge Network: to provide the analysis, awareness and intelligence needed to protect the sovereignty, security, and safety of this audience.

Well, that wraps up this week, and this year of Global Intelligence. 

I want to wish all my listeners a safe and enjoyable New Year’s celebration. 

Wherever you are, stay aware of your surroundings and report anything concerning, what you share with law enforcement and intelligence professionals could save lives.

Until next time — stay curious, stay informed, and stay safe.

OUTRO:

MUSIC

That brings us to the end of this special Global Intelligence Yearly Wrap-Up.

Thank you for spending the time with us.

Every issue we examined in this episode — from the acceleration of extremist violence and the global rise in antisemitism, to persistent foreign interference, espionage and insider threats, and the growing use of hybrid and grey-zone tactics — reinforces one central reality: today’s national security challenges are interconnected, ongoing, and increasingly difficult to separate from everyday life.

These threats are not abstract.

They are unfolding in real time — here in Canada and across the world.
Producing the Global Intelligence Weekly Wrap-Up requires extensive research, constant monitoring of open-source reporting, and careful analysis to ensure that every episode delivers clear, accurate, and independent intelligence insight — week after week.

If you find value in this work, please consider supporting the podcast through Buzzsprout.

Your one-time or ongoing contribution directly supports the Global Intelligence Weekly Wrap-Up and helps ensure we can continue providing in-depth analysis, free from outside influence, without interruption.

If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe, share the podcast with others, and leave a review. It makes a real difference and helps more listeners discover the show.

And as Neil always says — stay curious, stay informed, and stay safe.

Links: 

SEGMENT 1
Extremist Terrorism & the Acceleration Effect
(including global antisemitism)
• Terrorist Threat to Canada ‘Has Rarely Been Higher,’ Report Says
https://globalnews.ca/news/10947123/terrorist-threat-canada-rarely-higher/
• Acts of hate are on the rise in Australia – but naming them is proving fraught
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/09/acts-of-hate-australia-antisemitism-islamophobia-ntwnfb
• What we know about the shooting victims at Sydney’s Bondi Beach Jewish event
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/what-we-know-about-shooting-victims-at-sydneys-bondi-beach-jewish-event-2025-12-15/
 
SEGMENT 2
Foreign Interference
• Liberal leadership race will be monitored by election threat task force
https://globalnews.ca/news/10956391/liberal-leadership-race-foreign-interference-monitoring/
• Canada report on foreign interference finds no evidence of ‘traitors’ in Parliament
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/28/canada-foreign-interference-report
• Court documents allege ‘unexplained wealth’ of Chinese national charged with reckless foreign interference
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-11/chinese-national-charged-foreign-interference-unexplained-wealth/105637550
 
SEGMENT 3
Espionage & Insider Threats
(China emphasis where applicable)
• Germany: Three indicted on charges of spying for China
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-three-indicted-on-charges-of-spying-for-china/a-71257247
• Ex-Hydro-Québec employee accused of spying for China secretly published research, court hears
https://globalnews.ca/news/11479429/rcmp-china-arrest/
• China using social media to target and recruit U.S. service members for spying
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-spying-efforts-us-service-members-social-media/
• Chinese hackers infiltrate U.S. National Guard for nearly a year
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/national-guard-hacked-by-chinese-salt-typhoon-campaign-2025-07-15
 
SEGMENT 4
Hybrid Warfare & Grey-Zone Operations
(Russian services / proxy playbooks)
• Russia using criminal networks to drive increase in sabotage acts, says Europol
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/18/russia-criminal-networks-drive-increase-sabotage-europol
• Finland charges tanker crew with sabotage of undersea cables
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/11/finland-accuses-tanker-crew-sabotage-undersea-cables-anchor
• Norway spy chief blames Russian hackers for dam sabotage in April
https://www.reuters.com/technology/norway-spy-chief-blames-russian-hackers-dam-sabotage-april-2025-08-13/