“This Isn’t Over” A Warning That Closed Out 2025

What began as a city-wide transit outage on December 4th has now become one of the most unsettling closing chapters of 2025.

As systems were gradually restored and commuters returned to platforms across the city, ODTN News received an anonymous message through its secure tip line. The message was brief, unverified, and deeply concerning:

“This isn’t over.”

Authorities have not confirmed the source of the message, nor whether it is directly linked to the transit disruption. But in the context of the past year, the warning has struck a nerve across the cybersecurity and emergency preparedness community.

The transit outage was not an isolated event. Throughout 2025, Canada experienced a string of disruptive incidents affecting critical systems once assumed to be resilient:

• Power grid instability impacting multiple regions

• Supply chain disruptions causing shortages and delays

• Transit shutdowns that stranded thousands of commuters

• Cascading technology failures that blurred the line between cyber and physical risk

Individually, each incident was treated as manageable. Collectively, they tell a different story…one of systems under sustained pressure, probing, and stress.

Several experts have raised concerns that these events resemble testing behaviours, where attackers observe response times, communication breakdowns, and public reaction rather than seeking immediate destruction.

Security analysts warn that the most dangerous outcome is not the attacks themselves, but the normalization of disruption.

“Each time we recover without meaningful reflection or preparation, we signal that disruption is acceptable,” said one crisis response advisor familiar with multiple 2025 incidents. “That’s what invites escalation.”

While investigations continue into the December transit outage, there is growing concern that Canada’s focus has leaned too heavily on response, restoring services quickly without equal investment in training, coordination, and realistic crisis preparation.

Across government agencies, private operators, and critical infrastructure providers, one issue keeps surfacing: many teams are encountering these scenarios for the first time during the crisis itself.

Experts argue that tabletop exercises, simulations, and cross-sector drills are no longer optional. They are essential tools to expose gaps before real-world consequences unfold.

Crisis preparation isn’t about predicting the exact next incident. It’s about ensuring leaders, operators, and communicators know how to function when uncertainty is high, information is incomplete, and public trust is on the line.

The anonymous message sent to ODTN News remains under review. Whether it was a provocation, a bluff, or something more deliberate is still unknown.

What is known is this: 2025 has revealed how interconnected and vulnerable Canada’s systems have become. Power, transit, supply chains, and digital infrastructure no longer fail in isolation. When one stumbles, others feel the impact.

As the country moves into 2026, the question is no longer if another disruption will occur, but whether organizations will be better prepared when it does.

Because if the message is true, if this really isn’t over then training, coordination, and crisis readiness may be the difference between disruption and disaster.

Watching the perimeter — and what slips past it. — Ayaan Chowdhury