Hybrid Threats Pose Growing Challenge to National Security, Expert Warns

Government officials must treat hybrid threats—deliberate campaigns of misinformation, cyberattacks, and disruptions to critical infrastructure—as seriously as traditional military threats, according to a leading security expert.

Professor Dr. Carlo Masala, Conference Chair at the Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies (CISS) at the Bundeswehr University of Munich, warns that these coordinated campaigns represent standalone national security risks capable of significantly undermining government trust and operations.

“These campaigns spread false information rapidly through social media and digital platforms. Unlike Cold War disinformation, current campaigns unfold globally within seconds,” Masala told Islands Business in a recent interview.

The rapidly evolving nature of these threats poses particular challenges for government response teams. Traditional security frameworks, designed for conventional threats, often prove inadequate against the speed and complexity of hybrid attacks.

Misinformation represents the most dangerous element of hybrid threats, according to Masala. Its long-lasting effects can persist in public consciousness long after initial exposure. Unlike conventional attacks with visible impacts, digital misinformation campaigns can continue influencing public opinion even after being officially debunked.

“Governments must abandon any notion that hybrid campaigns are secondary to physical military conflicts,” Masala emphasized. This fundamental shift in security thinking requires developing new frameworks that place digital threats on equal footing with kinetic military operations.

Particularly concerning are coordinated cyberattacks during natural disasters. Masala highlighted scenarios where attackers might jam GPS signals or disrupt power to hospitals during crisis situations. Such actions can delay humanitarian aid delivery and directly endanger civilian populations already vulnerable during emergencies.

Government responses to hybrid threats often fail due to three key shortcomings identified by Masala: inadequate preparedness, slow reaction times, and underestimating potential impacts. Most concerning is that many governments still don’t incorporate hybrid threat scenarios into their security planning and emergency response frameworks.

“Response times of 48 to 72 hours are too slow to counter misinformation effectively,” Masala noted. “This delay allows false information to persist and influence public opinion.” By the time official responses are formulated, misinformation may have already reached millions and shaped public perception.

Security experts increasingly call for a complete integration of hybrid threat response into national security planning. This means developing specialized units with the authority, tools, and capabilities to detect and counter digital threats with the same urgency given to conventional security incidents.

“A shift toward a ‘hybrid’ response model is necessary to match the speed of attacks,” Masala said. This model requires officials to have tools and processes enabling responses within seconds or minutes rather than days—a significant departure from traditional bureaucratic approaches to security threats.

The rise of hybrid threats coincides with growing global political tensions and technological advances making sophisticated attacks accessible to more actors. Social media platforms, while not inherently malicious, provide efficient channels for distributing false information to targeted audiences with minimal oversight.

Experts recommend that governments invest in advanced monitoring systems capable of detecting coordinated misinformation campaigns in real-time. Additionally, public education campaigns about digital literacy and critical information consumption can help build societal resilience against manipulation attempts.

For Pacific Island nations and other regions particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, integrated planning that considers hybrid threats alongside disaster response becomes especially crucial. Without such integration, misinformation could significantly hamper recovery efforts and undermine public trust during critical emergency situations.

As hybrid threats continue evolving, security frameworks must similarly adapt—moving beyond traditional concepts of warfare to address these multifaceted challenges to national security and social cohesion.