"Gefährder" as young as 10

Islamists are increasingly often schoolchildren

The number of Islamist terrorists - i.e. those who are believed to be capable of carrying out attacks - is constantly increasing, and they are increasingly young.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com, krone.at-Grafik)

The Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN), which was founded three years ago, will certainly not be bored in 2025. In addition to the rise of right-wing extremists and Russian attacks on critical infrastructure, it is mainly young Islamists who are causing concern in school playgrounds. 

For a few hours on Sunday, the Chinese video portal TikTok was unavailable to anyone in the USA. This was due to a US law that provided for the sale of the controversial portal, which is popular with young people. TikTok is now up and running again - following the intervention of re-US President Donald Trump. The platform is causing debate in Europe. Spying is suspected here and there. And the content is often strange and quite radical.

The DSN, which was founded three years ago as the successor to the BVT, is also involved with TikTok. Islamists in particular like to use it - to spread propaganda to our youngest children. And also to get in touch with them as directly as possible.

A ten-year-old was also seduced by TikTok and co. He is considered very dangerous.

(Bild: APA Pool/APA/dpa/Marijan Murat)

The number of Islamist threats - i.e. all those who are believed to be capable of carrying out attacks - is therefore constantly increasing. One reason for this is TikTok and other social media. It is said that children bring the ideology of terrorist groups directly into schools. There have already been several violent incidents in Vienna in particular.

Ten-year-old radicalized via TikTok & Co.
A ten-year-old boy from Somalia, who was caught in 2024, is also described as very dangerous. However, the DSN lacks the tools to monitor all dangerous individuals. Young people in particular only communicate digitally. An area in which Austria is known to be blind. Without the monitoring of messenger services, 19-year-old Beran A. from Ternitz (Lower Austria) was ultimately able to avoid attracting attention.

It was only a tip from the FBI that led to the network (said to be a double-digit number of people), which planned an attack on a concert by US star Taylor Swift in Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium on August 9, 2024.

Election victories also inspire right-wing extremists
The young right are on the upswing after the recent elections. They are also active on social media to find supporters. However, martial arts groups, of which there are already many in Germany, have not (yet) made it to Austria. While the FPÖ triumph has led to lively contacts between the left-wing extremist scene and Germany, there are also growing concerns about espionage, attacks on critical infrastructure and disinformation - especially from Russia.

There are more frequent seizures in the far-right milieu, which is very well networked.

(Bild: BMI)

Critical infrastructure must be better protected
Because Russia is no longer able to manufacture some of its weapons itself due to the sanctions, they are targeting semiconductor technology from Austria, for example. This is then misused to manufacture weapons. There are many requests from companies regarding the protection of critical infrastructure such as the power supply. Although there have been cyber attacks to date, there have not yet been any acts of sabotage. Here, too, it is expected that this calm will not last forever.