A NEW WAVE OF HYBRID INFORMATION SECURITY THREATS: HOW CAN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA SURVIVE?
A new wave of hybrid threats has become an integral part of the current reality that has hit the Republic of Moldova as one of the consequences or results of the large-scale invasion of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine. Unfortunately, the massive hybrid attacks to which our country has been subjected have become the subject of heated discussions, division of society, fear, hostility and discord among the civilian population. If we identify the key problems in this area, then perhaps the following should be highlighted:
False bomb warnings that have literally flooded the Republic of Moldova, in particular, the capital. An example are the warnings that have occurred in the international airport in Chisinau, near the Supreme Court building, in shopping centers. Of course, all this provokes fear, discord, discontent and sows doubts about the ability of power structures to respond in a timely manner to such attacks and difficulties in the field of national security and its maintenance;
Another problem that has become a kind of manifestation of a new round of hybrid threats is the attempted cyber attacks on information systems of national importance (in particular, on portals and information platforms. An example are the attacks in August, which within 72 hours led to difficulties in the functioning of more than 80 information portals of our state).
In identifying the problems, it would be fair to note a sharp increase in disinformation informational narratives, which refer to the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine, Ukraine itself, Ukrainians, targeting the Russian-speaking public, Russian-speaking regions. The purpose of such disinformation narrations is to support the actions of the Russian Federation, to form a positive image of Russia in the eyes of its supporters. It should be noted that, for the most part, this is possible because the idea of Russia itself and the image of Russia in these regions, in fact, have not changed since the beginning of the Russian war against Ukraine, which has been going on for eight long months now. This problem requires timely coordinated actions and solutions. If we are talking about improving the structures for countering information systems, then it is important to develop educational projects, information literacy, in order to keep up with the typical global and pan-European trends. We see that the European Union has tightened its disinformation policy this year.
The Republic of Moldova should also enhance response measures, improve fact-checking mechanisms, which should become an integral part of the authorities’ current response to opportunities for improved action in the media sphere, close cooperation between the authorities in power, information security structures, cyber security, as well as the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, who should be more resilient to hybrid threats and verify information. This is extremely important in today’s digital age.