NATO bid makes Finland target for Russian ops, says Finnish intelligence

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) - Finland's intelligence service warned on Thursday that Helsinki joining NATO would make the country a target for Russian intelligence and operations.

The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (SUPO) announced that Finland’s membership process makes the Nordic country a "more interesting target" and that Russia may use this as an opportunity to get hold of NATO intelligence through its neighbor.

SUPO in its national security review said Russia has turned to cyberspace and other intelligence sources amid its war on Ukraine.

The review also said Moscow is facing difficulties when it comes to human intelligence operations after many Russians have been expelled from the Western countries.

“This has become substantially more difficult since Russia launched its war of aggression on Ukraine, as many Russian diplomats have been expelled from the West,” said SUPO.

The security service also pointed out that the main intelligence gathering approach applied by the Russian intelligence services is "human intelligence under diplomatic cover."

Moscow is "increasingly" targeting Russians who live abroad and foreigners who live in or even only visit Russia to gather intelligence, warned SUPO.

According to the Finnish intelligence, corporate spying by Moscow is "also increasing" amid sanctions imposed by the Western countries on Russia and that “this places a particular premium on data security in Finnish businesses."

Finland along with its neighboring country Sweden applied for NATO membership in May, ending decades of neutrality.

The country shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) land border with Russia.