“The most dangerous and destructive threats in the world are attacks on shared values and mutual trust, without which the family, society, state and international order disintegrate.”
It is necessary to respond to the transformation of the international security environment — to activate the Central Cyber Shield and thereby initiate the cyber rearmament of EU and NATO member states. The reason is to ensure collective defense in cyberspace by expanding the existing Article 5 to include its digital dimension. An integral part of this architecture is the inevitable emergence of a cyber army, interconnected and unified with the military armies of the NATO alliance into a unified defense system capable of responding in a coordinated manner to the threats of the global hybrid war of the 21st century, which European and world statesmen have long warned about. This war will be the longest and most dangerous in history, as it is taking place simultaneously in the physical and digital worlds. Hybrid threats, including the new phenomenon of AI politics, are penetrating EU and NATO member states from cyberspace in the form of the spread of disinformation, hate propaganda and manipulation of public opinion, significantly contributing to the escalation of international tensions and the outbreak of armed conflicts.
The 21st century global hybrid war, which was born from information chaos, disrupts and destroys both the physical and digital worlds at the same time. Social and political communication is moving to social networks, from where, under the influence of disinformation, hate propaganda and manipulation of public opinion, it penetrates the everyday lives of citizens through mobile devices, thereby provoking security and social tensions among people, deepening frustration, hostility and radicalization – social terrorism, including an increase in violence in society.
Attacks on democracy in cyberspace by totalitarian and authoritarian regimes in the form of information chaos have unleashed the 21st century global hybrid war, in which facts and truths are deliberately questioned and, as a result, there is a systemic distortion of reality in the field of political and public life. Trust between people is changing into distrust, anger and hatred are growing, which are destroying interpersonal relationships and political culture as well as the very functioning of the state, while at the same time critically threatening the security, social, economic and legal stability, development, prosperity and future of the member states of the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance.
Politicians of the member states of the European Union and NATO are coming up against the limits of their security capacities, as they cannot effectively address new hybrid and cyber threats within state structures alone. Key technological ecosystems, digital platforms, data infrastructure and innovation capacities are largely owned and managed by the private sector. Without visionaries, strategists and experts from the private sector, they remain helpless and cannot cope on their own with such fundamental challenges as the global hybrid war of the 21st century, the comprehensive analysis of which took almost 17 years. These authorities have the technological know-how focused on building a digital democratic infrastructure and the ability to create and implement strategic solutions. Without their involvement and active involvement, it is therefore impossible to build a modern security architecture for the 21st century or ensure the collective defense of the EU and NATO member states.
The Central Cyber Shield represents a unique international integrated security system, unrivaled in the world, whose seventeen-year development has led to the construction of a technological structure based on ten alliance security pillars that integrate the most modern capabilities for responding to the global hybrid war of the 21st century.
The Central Cyber Shield is not designed for digital regulations, directives and similar directives, as is the case with current European regulatory frameworks, such as the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the NIS2 Directive, frameworks such as the European Democracy Shield or other legislative and compliance mechanisms for cyber regulation. Its mission is to ensure the protection of the digital statehood, sovereignty, national identity and legitimacy of EU and NATO member states in cyberspace from the destructive impacts of the global hybrid war of the 21st century.
If preparations for the adoption and subsequent activation of the Central Cyber Shield are not initiated in a timely manner, the fulfillment of alliance commitments will be critically endangered, as without mutual trust it is impossible to maintain the alliance, cohesion or ensure collective defense, which will lead to the disintegration of society and the democratic system in the member states of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.