Slovakia is vulnerable to hybrid threats

Experts analysed six key fields that face attacks most often.

Illustrative stock photoIllustrative stock photo (Source: Sme)

Slovakia is vulnerable to hybrid threats, say the authors of the latest publication from the Globsec think-tank.

“We cannot pretend that Slovakia need not be concerned by hybrid threats when we see what is happening all over Europe,” said Daniel Milo, Globsec analyst and the leader of the Strategic Communication programme, as quoted by the TASR newswire.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

The approval of the Concept for the Fight against Hybrid Wars by the Slovak government last year was an important step. However, there is still much work to do, he added.

SkryťTurn off ads

Slovakia is threatened

The authors of the publication analysed six key fields: the targets of the most frequent hybrid threats and also the measures they use.

They also identified weak points and offered 40 recommendations to increase the resistance of Slovakia against hybrid threats.

Read also: Slovaks believe conspiracy theories more than their neighbours. Why? Read more 

As Milo explained, hybrid threats target these weak points and use them to favour the opponent.

Slovakia has experiences with paramilitary and extremist groups that can pose a threat to the stability and security of society, the analyst said.

“They do so not only with their illegal activities but also by spreading propaganda and disinformation,” Milo explained, as quoted by TASR.

Disinformation, cybernetic attacks and the financial influence of foreign players could influence electoral processes in the country, he said, adding that strategic communication is the way to defend against this.

SkryťTurn off ads

The lack of experts

Read also: Disinformation outlets attacked Čaputová during the presidential campaign the most Read more 

Information and communication technologies are one of the main victims of hybrid attacks on the country, said Katarína Klingová, analyst for the Strategic Communication programme at GLOBSEC.

Despite the fact that there are new measures in the field of cyber security in Slovakia, there are not enough qualified experts.

“Cyber security is closely connected to energy security, but the countermeasures hardly touch on the cyber component at all,” she said, as quoted by TASR.

Top stories

News digest: Don't forget- clocks go forward on Sunday

More money from Brussels, US helicopters for Slovakia, and Bratislava airport's warning against fake websites.


13 h
Filip Toška holding chard in the hydroponic Hausnatura farm.

How a Mayan doomsday prophecy took a Slovak to hi-tech agriculture

Hydroponic farm run out of former telephone exchange.


9. mar
A Lutheran priest outside the Lutheran High School in Tisovec in 2007.

US teachers not rushing to teach English in Slovakia due to war

Dozens of Americans taught Slovak students in Tisovec in the past, but the local school is now struggling to find teachers from overseas.


21. mar
PM Eduard Heger announces his new political party, Demokrati, on March 7, 2023.

With his new party, Slovak PM embarks on a mission to unify

After two years as premier of an OĽaNO-led government, Eduard Heger is leaving the populist movement of Igor Matovič and hopes to establish a new political culture in Slovakia.


20. mar
SkryťClose ad