How Emergence of Hybrid Warfare Impacted National Security in the Digital Age

Research question:
How has the emergence of hybrid warfare, and particularly the proliferation of cybercrime, impacted national security in the digital age?
Table of Contents INTRODUCTION:. 3 LITERATURE REVIEW: 4 METHODOLOGY: 6 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION: 6 The Case of Israel and Hezbollah: 6 The 2007 Cyber Attacks against Estonia: 7 Policy Documents on Dealing with Cyber Attacks: 8 Policy Documents on Dealing with Hybrid Warfare. 8 CONCLUSION: 9 REFERENCES: 10
INTRODUCTION:
For more than two decades, the Internet has played a major role in global communications. The Internet has become a major tool in integrating the lives of people around the world (Bosamia, 2013). Innovations have allowed billions of people to the Internet, while at the same time generating billions of dollars for the global economy. The advancement in technology has made it possible for a majority of the economic, commercial, and governmental activities at governmental and non-governmental institutions to be carried out in cyberspace. Critical and sensitive infrastructure either forms part of cyberspace or is exploited through space. For instance, vital infrastructure like weapons and defense, systems healthcare facilities, electrical grids, and media are increasingly dependent on information communications technology (ICTs) (Jang-Jaccard and Nepal, 2014). However, the same overreliance on cyberspace has made critical systems and infrastructure inherently vulnerable, making it possible for hostile actors to attack cyberspace.
The increasing digitization of modern societies has made national security to become complex and multifaceted. In the traditional understanding of national security, the threat is purely military. The threat entails the use of military forces and action like territorial encroachment. However, after the Cold War, threats to nations were no longer limited to the enemy’s military. Non-Traditional Security (NTS) threats, also called non-military threats began to be considered (Syed and Javed, 2017). Currently, hybrid warfare, which combines traditional military tactics with non-traditional methods such as propaganda and disinformation campaigns, presents a new security challenge. In recent years, the proliferation of cybercrime, together with the emergence of hybrid warfare has led to serious concerns related to national security. Both phenomena have the potential to cause major harm to a nation’s security. Additionally, the findings of this paper will be of interest to academics and researchers in the field of cybersecurity and national security.
The objective of the present study is to explore how cybercrime and hybrid warfare impact national security in the digital age. Specifically, this study will examine the evolution of cybercrime and hybrid warfare and their respective impacts on national security (CRAIG & VALERIANO, 2018) It will also analyze the various methods and strategies governments, and other actors have developed to address these non-traditional security threats.
To explore this objective, the research question will be, ‘How has the emergence of hybrid warfare, and particularly the proliferation of cybercrime, impacted national security in the digital age?’
LITERATURE REVIEW:
According to (Fuchs, 2016) the end of the Cold War in 1989 was expected to lead to a politically stable world, where countries collaborated rather than confrontation. Western countries expected to foster cooperation with the rest of the world in a bid to tackle more global challenges. Conflict seemed far away, with the analysts who predicted a troublesome future being seen as pessimists. For a majority of the security analysts, with the two superpowers having resolved their controversy regarding political ideologies, nothing could endanger everlasting peace. However, little attention was given to the increasing number of organized crime groups that were taking advantage of the peaceful atmosphere to gain enormous amounts of money (Fuchs, 2016). These groups would later use the money to offer financial support or access to critical resources like weapons, which would later lead to thousands of casualties.
Military aggression against another country is taken with a lot of weight and retaliation. However, while nation-states have minimized the use of military activities on others, they have not ceased exploring other alternatives aimed at infiltrating the national security of their targets. In other words, while traditional security threats remain on the table, they are joined by a set of non-traditional security (NTS) threats that include climate change, natural disasters, cybercrimes, and economic inequality among others. Montesclaros, Luis and Caballero-Anthony (2022) illustrate that the world has seen significant transitions over the past decade. The competition for supremacy has brought about growing ideological divisions within nations with an increasingly multipolar world. As polarization continues, Montesclaros, Luis, and Caballero-Anthony (2022) indicate the need to prioritize the warfare of the people. In this regard, all states must be concerned with addressing the issues that present existential threats to society, even where they do not originate from traditional security threats like military sources.
Torossian, Fagliano, and Görder (2022) indicate that this raises an interesting point regarding the emergence of conflicts between states, which are largely below the legal level of armed conflict, and which include the use of civilian and military actors to achieve the unintended output. Unlike threats that employ purely a military approach, the use of civilian actors and means in addition to the former changes the way people look at warfare. Cullen and Reichborn-Kjennerud (2017) call this type of new threat ‘hybrid warfare.’ Hybrid warfare is customized to remain below the obvious detection and response thresholds, often relying on digital technology to achieve its objectives. Cullen and Reichborn-Kjennerud (2017) demonstrate that hybrid warfare is already widespread, given that it can be used by both state and non-state actors. Hybrid warfare exploits national vulnerabilities across the political, economic, social, and informational infrastructure. It is synchronized and systematic, which makes it challenging to handle. (Fuchs, 2016) aptly notes that hybrid warfare blurs the lines between war and politics, soldier and civilian. Such an approach comes as a result of the loss of the nation-state’s monopoly on violence. In the past, it was challenging for individuals to institute violence against nation-states. Such activity was the reserve of nation-states, who decided which countries to attack. However, hybrid warfare does not follow the conventional manner of a purely military approach. The incorporation of civilians, capable of undertaking the same violence is worrying.
At the same time, states and non-state actors have continued to exploit cyberspace to infiltrate the national security of states. In the modern world, cyberthreat has emerged as one of the NTS threats. Advancements in knowledge have seen widespread adoption of computing systems at an individual and organizational level (Golightly et al., 2022). The advancement has revolutionized the way people live and work. For instance, today people can work from the comfort of their houses. However, the same advancement has attracted bad actors who wish to take advantage of computerized systems to cause harm. Cybersecurity threats refer to acts undertaken by individuals who have harmful intent, to steal, cause damage, steal data, and disrupt systems (Jang-Jaccard and Nepal, 2014). It encompasses a wide range of activities like hacking, phishing, and malware attacks.
Hacking implies unauthorized access to computer systems or networks. It results in the theft of sensitive data and the disruption of important services (Li and Liu, 2021). People and organizations can suffer financial and reputational damage at the hands of hackers. The disruption of critical services like power grids and transportation systems can cause a lot of inconveniences and even the loss of life. Hacking can be done by individuals or organized groups with the intent of carrying out espionage or financial gain (Søilen, 2016). Phishing implies the use of fraudulent emails and websites to trick individuals into providing sensitive information like usernames and passwords (Syiemlieh et al., 2015). The criminals then use the details to log into the accounts of the victims and transfer money in the case of bank accounts. Phishing can be challenging to detect and criminals can cause a lot of harm before the victims realize it. Malware attacks refer to software applications that are meant to infiltrate computer systems and cause harm (Saeed, 2020). When malware attacks target institutions, it can cause widespread disruption of operations and the compromise of sensitive data.
Cybersecurity attacks are becoming common as people and organizations embrace technological solutions that come from different sources. Firstly, nation-states can launch cyber-attacks against businesses and government organizations to steal secrets and cause disruptions. Secondly, terrorist organizations can use cybersecurity attacks to threaten the national security of a country (Weimann, 2004). They can utilize it to cause harm to targeted individuals. Thirdly, criminal groups leverage cybersecurity attacks to target computing systems majorly for economic benefits. For instance, online scams can be used as means of obtaining money from unsuspecting victims. The fourth category is hackers who target individuals and organizations to settle political scores, steal money, and revenge. The last source is malicious insiders. These are employees who have legitimate access to the assets of an organization and use their privileges to steal information or damage computing systems (Saxena et al., 2020). The category also includes outsiders who have compromised a privileged account and continue impersonating the owner.
In summary, hybrid warfare, and cybersecurity crimes have proved to be a major threat to national security. Since the two do not meet the threshold for military aggression, they can go unnoticed, yet cause more harm than any other military activity. While the literature has explored hybrid warfare and cybersecurity crimes, little attention has been given to the combination of the two has impacted national security in the digital era. Moreover, there is a need to consider real-life case studies of hybrid warfare and cybersecurity crimes to demonstrate how they have impacted nations. The use of policy documents is required to demonstrate the measures that governments are putting in place to protect themselves from threats.
METHODOLOGY:
This research will employ a quantitative research methodology to analyze the research question comprehensively. Data collection methods will include analysis of case studies and relevant policy documents. The case studies will entail countries that have encountered significant cybercrime or hybrid warfare incidents recently, where such occurrences have had an impact on economic, social, and political aspects of society. Case studies will provide insights into the challenges and opportunities that have come about as a result of the incidents. The case studies will be included based on their severity and relevance to the research question. Additionally, an analysis of policy documents will be done. This will be critical in understanding the issues that underpin national security in the digital space. The information gathered from the policy documents will demonstrate the strategies governments are taking to address the issues resulting from the problem. In particular, the documents will offer insights into the measures that governments are taking to mitigate the risks resulting from cybercrime and hybrid warfare.
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION:
The Case of Israel and Hezbollah:
This case was selected because it demonstrates a case of nation-states using hybrid warfare to gain an advantage over each other. The concept of hybrid warfare first received widespread recognition in 2006 when Hezbollah achieved some military success against the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in Lebanon. Hezbollah, a sophisticated non-state actor at the time was receiving funding from Iran and Syrian governments to carry out attacks against Israeli soldiers. Hezbollah used unconventional tactics to attack Israeli soldiers in Lebano...