Social cybersecurity is here to stay, and it might be the next war we might be fighting?

We are already battling with information warfare. This might be a military article but it

applies to the civilian sector. The author’s statement is correct, the use or

misinformation can be a powerful tool, it weakens the trust within, dividing societies,

breaking our culture, tumbling institutions and making us question our own values.

Technology has allowed actors to fight and infiltrate the use of bogus journalism and

misinformation, promoting fake news from a far might be the new weapon, there are no

more geographical limitations or borders where actual physical presence is a

requirement anymore, only a cyber domain is needed. Additionally fact checking might

be a thing of the past, because individuals have to do it themselves and it is just easier

to believe what people are posting, laziness might be winning this round for sure. The

interesting fact is that there is only one country in this whole world that cannot be

socially manipulated, North Korea is the only one that still requires physical presence

due to all its internet restrictions and manipulations. This vulnerability our society faces

today due to social manipulation is outrageous, making social cybersecurity a new era

of national security that will definitely affect future conflicts at all levels, not only

domestically but internationally. It’s creating the base for cyber-infrastructure required to

help society maintain its fundamental nature in a changing mediated information

environment evolving conditions.

Information is becoming the most powerful thing, and it cannot be stopped and cannot

be left unchecked. Decentralized quality control of information is not trusted like before,

too many hands in the pot, now its use to affirm their own biases. Governments might

try to place controls, but my belief is that we are way too far to be able to make a

change to implement censorship because people might believe their freedom of free

speech will be taken, creating chaos, so it is a really a thin line to cross, so what can be

the medium to help us maintain information accurate and true?

Reference:

Beskow, D. M, & Carley, Kathleen M. (M.D.). Social Cybersecurity an

emerging national security requirement. Army University Press.

https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-

Archives/Mar-Apr-2019/117-Cybersecurity/b/