Law-Abiding Criminals: How a Group of Military Over-Interested Persons Became a Threat Against National Security

Abstract

The present case study examines a new form of security threat in the form of a network of “military over-interested persons” who tried to perform a mapping of Sweden’s classified military infrastructure. What makes them stand out is that they seem to have had no malicious intent, unlike the more frequently studied areas of spies and other insider threats. The results indicate that an obsessive military interest and a “perfect storm” of factors—individual risk factors, a toxic social network, and the false safety of a closed military web forum—allowed the individuals to commit serious crimes. Implications for the security of military organizations and future research are discussed.