On 2 January 2026, Small Wars Journal published a new analysis by Hamzeh Abu Nowar, MENA Research Senior Analyst at HM Services & Consultancy, introducing the concept of Digital Insurgency and examining its implications for contemporary security and intelligence environments.
This analysis builds on the author's ongoing research into hybrid threat dynamics and emerging digital mobilisation models.
The article explores how encrypted communications, digital anonymity, adaptive tradecraft, and artificial intelligence are converging to enable a new mode of mobilisation that transcends traditional threat categories. Rather than fitting neatly into distinctions between terrorism, organised crime, or influence operations, these hybrid behaviours operate across encrypted digital ecosystems, challenging legacy analytical and policy frameworks.
Digital Insurgency does not describe a single actor type or cohesive movement. Instead, it captures an emerging behavioural and operational logic in which decentralised actors—criminal, ideological, and insurgent—adopt overlapping strategies to exploit technological advances while evading conventional detection and disruption mechanisms.
This evolving phenomenon is reshaping the contemporary threat environment by:
Blurring established boundaries between threat categories
Outpacing conventional security and intelligence responses
Exposing structural gaps in existing analytical and risk assessment frameworks
The analysis underscores the need for agile, integrated, and accountable approaches to intelligence and security—approaches capable of responding to hybrid digital threats while preserving civil liberties and strategic clarity.
Read the full original analysis in Small Wars Journal:
The Invisible Frontline: How Encrypted Networks and AI Are Rewiring Britain’s Security
Digital Insurgency: How Encrypted Networks and AI Are Reshaping the Threat Landscape
by HMSC Intelligence Division
The Return of the Taliban
August 28, 2021
Back to Events
The Return of the Taliban
August 28, 2021
Back to Insights
This analysis was produced by the HMSC Intelligence Division, the internal research and analytical unit of HM Services & Consultancy Ltd. The Division develops strategic intelligence assessments and behavioural threat analysis based on structured open-source research, regional expertise, and analytical modelling, in accordance with strict legal and ethical standards.
Back to Events
January 05, 2026