The article “Social Cybersecurity: An Emerging National Security Requirement” by Lt. Col. David M. Beskow and Kathleen M. Carley really grabbed my attention and got me thinking. As I read through it, I learned about the changing landscape of national security challenges in today’s digital age. It was fascinating to see how technology is giving both state and non-state actors a lot of power to shape opinions, ideas, and social norms. I found the comparison between social cybersecurity, where people use technology to influence others, and traditional cybersecurity, which focuses on protecting information systems, really interesting. They call this process “cognitive hacking,” and it’s intriguing to see how fields like social sciences, psychology, and marketing are being used to shape society and individual behavior. The article also stressed the importance of taking a multidisciplinary approach, combining disciplines like political science, sociology, and social psychology, to fully understand the dangers of cyber-mediated society. It was clear that action is needed, not just awareness, especially when we’re facing new challenges in information warfare, as shown by the example of the Russian media blitzkrieg and the role of bots in making these dangers worse. Despite the complexity of the issues discussed, the article gave me hope that we can protect our national interests and values in this increasingly digital world by understanding and addressing these challenges head-on.