Neural interfaces are entering NATO’s own defence health systems, and existing cybersecurity frameworks weren’t built for them. This article lays out what NATO should do before the gap is exploited.
Cyber Security and Emerging Threats
The NAOC’s Cyber Security and Emerging Threats Program features an in-depth analysis of latest trends, developments, and threats in international security. New security concerns are always on the horizon and our program seeks to examine these domains including global warming, natural resources, drones, urban conflicts, and cyberspace.
The program’s mandate is to keep Canadians informed on these rapidly developing and increasingly pivotal realms that are integral to all aspects of security.
Tag‑Swapping at Toronto Pearson: Insider Threats, Cyber‑Physical Airport Systems, and NATO’s Resilience Agenda
This article will look at the baggage‑tag switching scandal at Toronto Pearson Airport—where insiders allegedly moved passengers’ tags onto drug‑filled suitcases—and use it to show how modern airports have become vulnerable to cyber‑physical systems, not just places with broken conveyor belts.
Weaponized Migration: When Mobility Becomes a Weapon of War
Through the manipulation of human mobility, states are transforming human desperation into a weapon. As migrants and refugees are increasingly being employed as weapons of war, NATO must be prepared to respond to this hybrid challenge, which carries significant security and humanitarian implications.
Pay to Play: Implications of War’s Declining Cost of Entry
The declining cost of war, driven by cheap first-person-view (FPV) drones, commercially available components, and rapidly diffusing battlefield innovation, is lowering the financial barriers to enter conflicts, both for state and non-state actors. This risks increasing the frequency and territory impacted by armed conflict and, by extension, expands the risk of entrapment to NATO countries.
The Battle for the Brain: Cognitive Warfare is Already Here
As some of history’s greatest military strategists have contended, human will is central to conflict. Yet, as emerging technologies capable of altering emotions, reasoning, and ultimately, human will, are progressively used to cause divide and modify conduct, NATO must place increasing importance on the cognitive domain of conflict.
The New Eyes of the North: GlobalEye, Canada-Sweden Defence Cooperation, and Arctic Security
Geopolitical competition in the Arctic is intensifying due to increased access to the region driven by climate change and interest in precious oil and other resources. In response to the growing need for security and surveillance on our nation’s Northern front, Canada’s ongoing discussions with Sweden to acquire the GlobalEye platform and produce Saab aircraft will significantly enhance Canada and NATO’s ability to monitor and respond to emerging threats across the North.
2026 Virtual Policy Hackathon Report: A Tri-Partner Solution to Canada’s Uranium Challenge
NATO’s 2025 Science and Technology Organization Highlights report offers a snapshot of an Alliance pushing technological boundaries while struggling to align the systems behind them. Across data fusion, autonomy, and multidomain operations, innovation is accelerating faster than integration. These seams now shape the contours of NATO’s modernization challenge.
Assessing Canadian Nuclear Latency Amidst Declining Confidence in Extended Nuclear Deterrence
As confidence in American commitments declines, new extended nuclear deterrence arrangements are emerging in the EU. Canada, geographically distinct from this emerging network, thus ought to reassess its nuclear- latent stance. The article concludes continued nuclear latency is the most strategic positioning for Canada.
Emerging Intelligence Market: Know-How and Training for Combat Drone Usage
From Kyiv to Tehran, states are building new partnerships around drone warfare knowledge, training, and battlefield innovation. This article uses a SWOT analysis approach to explore NATO’s position and potential in the emerging global know-how market.
Parallel Progress, Divergent Systems: What the Science and Technology Organization’s 2025 Highlights Report Reveals About NATO’s Technological Modernization Gaps
The 2025 Science and Technology Organization (STO) Highlights Report is a stark reminder that in an environment characterized by compressed decision cycles and rapid response requirements, technological military advantage depends less on possessing advanced systems than on how seamlessly they operate across domains, nations, and architectures. Progress in integrated platforms and autonomous sensing and countermeasure Read More…