European security officials are confronting a shifting threat landscape in which a growing share of terrorism suspects are minors radicalized through online networks that glorify violence for its own sake, according to the EU's top counter-terrorism official.
Bartjan Wegter, the European Union Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, said in an interview that authorities are increasingly worried about what he called nihilistic violent extremism, a phenomenon distinct from the ideology-driven jihadist networks that have defined the post-9/11 era. The warning comes ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Data from the EU police agency Europol shows that 486 people suspected of terror links were arrested across 21 member countries last year. Of those taken into custody, approximately one third were under the age of 18, with boys making up the vast majority of that group.
The arrests came after a year in which 45 terrorist attacks were reported across 10 of the 27 EU countries. While none of the attacks were major mass-casualty incidents, about half were foiled or failed, and six people were killed. Jihadist groups, often guided or inspired by networks outside Europe, were responsible for 24 of the attacks and accounted for more than 70 percent of all arrests.
Wegter described the emerging threat as "violence for the sake of violence," noting that perpetrators often have no clear political or religious motive. "It's very much a fascination with violence. It's violence as a means of asserting oneself, as a means of gaining status in those online communities," he said. "There's not a direct link with ideology."
Police investigators from nine European countries identified about 4,340 web addresses linked to "The COM," an online community associated with this type of extremism, during a disruption campaign conducted in June and July. The exact size of the network behind the movement remains unclear.
European authorities point to several recent cases illustrating the trend. In Finland in 2025, a 16-year-old boy stabbed three female student colleagues. He allegedly shared a "manifesto" in WhatsApp groups, recorded the attack on Snapchat, and asked on social media for someone to save and give him the video after his release. No political motive was given for the rampage, according to an EU document on the emerging threat.
In Italy last year, a 15-year-old boy planned a murder to gain notoriety online. Authorities said he kept images and videos of assaults, murders, school shootings and child pornography on his smartphone.
Wegter said these incidents, which have been on the rise for two to three years, are not isolated but organized by online networks "often driven by young people, for young people often involving young boys." He warned that such networks "lead to offline violence. We've seen stabbings, a young individual stabbing an elderly person for no reason whatsoever."
The attacks are difficult to prevent or track, Wegter said, because they often involve "young individuals who will not have a criminal record, usually, who don't leave any footprints other than online perhaps, but then it's often behind encrypted walls and communities."
High on the list of groups on authorities' radar is 764, founded by American Bradley Cadenhead, who is serving an 80-year prison sentence for child pornography and sex offenses. The group continues to function despite his incarceration. In Germany last year, a 20-year-old man believed to be a leading 764 member faced 123 charges over acts of "an unimaginable level of brutality and inhumanity," including murder, rape and the sexual abuse of children, according to the EU document.
Europol said criminals are exploiting images and audio to create and edit propaganda, including through deepfakes, memes and GIFs. AI-powered bots are being used to boost recruitment and promote terrorist ideologies, while AI-driven applications are used for research to prepare attacks. "The kind of violent content, violence inciting content, propaganda, manuals, tactics, everything that is available, is very much amplified by AI," Wegter said.
The shift toward online radicalization presents new challenges for law enforcement. Wegter noted that 85 percent of investigations now take place in the digital environment, requiring authorities to adapt their methods and cooperate more closely with international partners. "Because what happens outside our borders impacts on our security," he said, including what is being amplified online.
Privacy advocates insist that people have a fundamental right to communicate without unjustified intrusion and accuse authorities of undermining protections through spyware and other methods. Wegter countered that "our law enforcement must be equipped with the instruments and tools to deal with the threat as it exists today."