Hybrid threats to state information security

Abstract

The annexation of Crimea and the beginnings of Russian aggression in the Donbass area have sparked widespread use in journalistic discourse and scholarly considerations of the concept of hybrid threats. With threats such as spreading false information and manipulating it in a way that undermines the public's trust in government and spreading information that compromises politicians. By attempting to undermine the social contract that binds the state and its constituents, a hybrid actor seeks to undermine trust between state institutions and citizens. As a result, the state loses its legitimacy - which is largely a function of public trust - and thus loses its ability to act as Thomas Hobbes argued in his 1651 work Leviathan. Consequently, a group of hybrid threats pertaining to information activities destroys both the ideological foundations and the state's ability to function smoothly. The article attempts to analyze and assess the essence of hybrid threats that have a major impact on the reduction of the state's information security.