Nordic Energy Under Threat: Sweden Debates Reviving Military Defence Guards

The Threat

Swedish broadcaster TV4 this week reported that a threat actor with links to a foreign power is suspected of being behind threats against the energy sector across the entire Nordic region. The threat actor is reported to have issued a deadline before striking. While Swedish authorities deny any specific threat to Swedish energy systems, FRA — Sweden's signals intelligence agency — has called for heightened vigilance.

"Right now there is reason for increased vigilance in that sector. It cannot be ruled out that cyber threat actors may attack the energy sector in Sweden as well," FRA stated.

The warning follows cyber attacks against Poland's energy sector in late December 2025. Energy Minister Ebba Busch (Christian Democrats) acknowledged on social media that the energy sector has "long been" identified as a target for threats and attacks, noting a previous hacking incident targeting Svenska Kraftnät, Sweden's national grid operator.

The Parliamentary Question

In response, Sweden Democrats MP Björn Söder filed a written question (2025/26:557) to Defence Minister Pål Jonson (Moderates) on 2 March 2026, asking whether the minister is prepared to take steps to recreate a modern equivalent of the former "driftvärn" — a military organisation that operated from 1944 to 2005 as part of the Home Guard, specifically tasked with protecting critical infrastructure at government agencies and private enterprises.

Söder's question draws on the Defence Commission's reports from 2023 and 2024 (Kraftsamling, Ds 2023:34, and Stärkt försvarsförmåga, Ds 2024:6), both of which flagged the need to consider recreating a modern version of the driftvärn for the protection of vital societal infrastructure. The Defence Commission noted that "several agencies have raised the issue of recreating a modern equivalent of the former driftvärn for the protection and surveillance of critical infrastructure."

Context and Significance

The question arrives at a moment when Sweden's security posture is under intense scrutiny. As a new NATO member, Sweden is integrating its defence capabilities within the alliance while simultaneously addressing vulnerabilities in civilian infrastructure. The Ukraine conflict has demonstrated how energy systems are prime targets in hybrid warfare — Russia has systematically attacked Ukrainian energy infrastructure throughout the war.

The driftvärn concept represents a distinctly Swedish approach to infrastructure protection: a military unit embedded within critical enterprises, authorised solely for the defence of those specific facilities. Its disbandment in 2005 reflected the post-Cold War peace dividend; its potential revival underscores how dramatically the security landscape has shifted.