THE impact of hybrid warfare and digital disinformation campaigns must be treated as a threat to national security equal to that of military operations, says Professor Doctor Carlo Masala, conference chair of the Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies at the Bundeswehr University of Munich.
Prof Masala warned that hybrid threats are designed to weaken the trust of people in the problem-solving capacity of their governments.
He identified disinformation, fuelled by deepfakes and rapid-fire social media campaigns, as a primary tool used to spread rumours and instability.
“Now you set up something and through X, Blue Sky, whatever is there, Facebook or whatever, you can start a huge disinformation campaign within seconds, which is much more effective,” he said.
He warned that these campaigns are an independent form of operation and do not necessarily serve as a prelude to military action.
“They are looking at that as an own form of operations and thereby you need to take this seriously.
“Don’t underestimate the power of hybrid campaigns in order to weaken governments.”
Prof Masala pointed out that a common global mistake is the failure to include hybrid threat responses in national planning, leading to slow government reactions.
“When I say we need to become hybrid, it means we need to become quicker also.
“They start a campaign within five seconds, we need 72 hours to counter it, that’s far too late.”
Beyond disinformation, he highlighted the danger of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure during natural disasters, such as interfering with GPS signals for navy food deliveries or knocking out hospital electricity.
To combat these borderless threats, Prof Masala urged Pacific Island nations to join forces through regional cooperation.
“A government alone, due to the transnational nature, can’t tackle these kinds of issues properly.”
