Defence Minister J. Naď at ITAPA: New strategic documents give answers to challenges of hybrid threats and disinformation

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď attended the International Information Technology and Public Administration (ITAPA) Congress in Bratislava today. Speaking on the discussion panel titled “Do We Know How To Face Hybrid Threats and Disinformation?”, he underscored the absolute necessity to deliver an effective and coordinated response to hybrid threats, including to disinformation narratives, faced by Slovakia today. Key to the Nation’s answer to them are the new strategic documents – the SVK Security Strategy and the SVK Defence Strategy.

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “In assessing the security landscape, the Security Strategy clearly states that Slovakia is faced, among others, with hybrid threats. That’s why we want to strengthen our capacity and expertise in public administration and state-wide coordination in this area.” In that spirit, he again appreciated the continued excellent collaborative efforts with the SVK Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs in formulating the new strategic documents.

The subject of hybrid threats and disinformation is also treated in the new SVK Defence Strategy, which sets out that identifying potential threats and delivering a timely response to them is a pre-requisite for tackling challenges in cyberspace. “Of course, prevention proves most effective. Therefore, the Defence Strategy reckons with the promotion of public awareness of how the defence of the State is delivered, which will increase public resilience against disinformation and malign propaganda,” he emphasised.

Yet another important interdepartmental initiative is the Action Plan For Coordination of Fight Against Hybrid Threats and Disinformation. Its ambition is to identify problems in this field and to provide concrete solutions to hybrid actions. Slovakia has approached hybrid threats actively within NATO since the Alliance recognised cyberspace as a domain of military operations in 2016, as well as committing to bolstering cyber defence at the national level.