Hybrid Warfare and Digital Disinformation Now Equal to Military Threats, Security Expert Warns

Digital disinformation campaigns and hybrid warfare tactics must be treated with the same level of concern as conventional military operations, according to a leading European security expert.

Professor Carlo Masala, conference chair at the Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies at Germany’s Bundeswehr University of Munich, warned that governments worldwide are insufficiently prepared for the rapid spread of digital disinformation campaigns designed to undermine public trust.

“Hybrid threats are designed to weaken the trust of people in the problem-solving capacity of their governments,” Prof. Masala explained during a recent security briefing. These campaigns represent a fundamental shift in modern conflict, operating as standalone threats rather than merely serving as precursors to traditional military action.

The professor highlighted how social media platforms have revolutionized the speed and effectiveness of disinformation campaigns. “Now you set up something and through X, Blue Sky, Facebook or whatever is there, you can start a huge disinformation campaign within seconds, which is much more effective,” he said.

Of particular concern is the growing sophistication of these operations, which increasingly employ deepfake technology to create convincing but fabricated content. These tools allow hostile actors to rapidly spread false information, creating confusion and instability within targeted populations.

The lag in governmental response capabilities represents a critical vulnerability, according to Prof. Masala. While malicious actors can launch campaigns almost instantaneously, government counterresponses often take days to formulate and implement. “They start a campaign within five seconds, we need 72 hours to counter it, that’s far too late,” he noted.

This response gap points to a broader issue: many nations have failed to integrate hybrid threat responses into their national security frameworks. Traditional security planning often focuses on conventional military threats while overlooking the unique challenges posed by information warfare and other hybrid tactics.

Beyond disinformation, Prof. Masala warned about the growing threat of targeted cyberattacks against critical infrastructure, particularly during crises like natural disasters. Such attacks could interfere with emergency response efforts by disrupting GPS signals for naval food deliveries or disabling electricity at hospitals when communities are already vulnerable.

These hybrid threats present a particular challenge to smaller nations with limited resources, such as those in the Pacific region. Prof. Masala emphasized that regional cooperation is essential to effectively counter these borderless threats. “A government alone, due to the transnational nature, can’t tackle these kinds of issues properly,” he stated.

Security experts note that this warning comes amid rising global tensions and increasingly sophisticated information warfare operations observed across several regions. In recent years, election interference, pandemic-related disinformation, and targeted campaigns during regional conflicts have demonstrated the potency of these tactics.

The threat landscape continues to evolve as artificial intelligence tools become more accessible, making it easier to create convincing fake content. Experts suggest that countering these threats will require not only technical solutions but also strengthened media literacy among populations and international cooperation on response protocols.

Several countries have begun establishing specialized governmental units focused on identifying and countering disinformation, though these efforts remain in their early stages in many regions. The effectiveness of such measures depends largely on coordination between public and private sectors, including cooperation from social media platforms where much of this content proliferates.

As hybrid warfare tactics continue to advance, security professionals emphasize that traditional concepts of defense must expand to include robust information security strategies, public education initiatives, and rapid response capabilities tailored to the unique challenges of the digital age.