In the paper that follows, several cross-border military and defense threats will be explored, particularly in view of UNICRI's role in advancing action-oriented research in the fields of crime prevention and criminal justice. Confronted by criminals who constantly find new ways of exploiting people and goods, the international community must remain at the forefront of identifying innovative responses to crimes affecting global security. As such, the present paper aims to contribute to the existing body of literature on current efforts to combat organized crime, illicit trafficking, terrorism, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear risks as well as the misuse of technology, including artificial intelligence, and robotics.