Social Cybersecurity: Guarding Against Modern Information Warfare
The article “Social Cybersecurity: An Emerging National Security Requirement,” written by Lt. Col. David M. Beskow and Dr. Kathleen M. Carley, demonstrates how “social cybersecurity” is a national security threat. Today’s connected technologies eliminate the need for physical proximity to influence society. Bad actors use the decentralized information flow to manipulate beliefs and ideas at a low cost around the world. Current cyber threats use race, religion, and distrust of government institutions to create hostility in societies. For example, Russia’s use of “information blitzkrieg,” a cyber take on the physical blitzkrieg used in WW II, is used to sow distrust in societies.
Information warfare has become a primary and unrelenting way to attack nation-states. Society has significantly changed with 24 access to social media. Misinformation and disinformation are rampant, exacerbated by news outlets focused on being first rather than being correct. Social cybersecurity training should be incorporated into our early education systems. Ensuring our technologically adapted civilization is updated with the knowledge to protect itself from cyber warfare is essential.