Digital transformation of the state as a factor in the formation of hybrid threats to public security

Abstract

The issue of the transformation of public security threats under the influence of the state’s digital transformation is being examined. The relevance is due to the fact that the introduction of digital technologies into public administration creates not only managerial and service effects but also new channels for the implementation of hybrid threats, which are not technical but socio-political in nature. The aim of the research is to identify the types of hybrid threats to public security that arise specifically due to the digital transformation of the state, and to propose recommendations for improving the legal regulation of their detection and prevention. The research is based on an interdisciplinary approach that integrates methods from legal science as well as data from other humanities. It has been established that the evolution of doctrinal approaches from the Concept of Public Security in the Russian Federation 2013 (which has been repealed) to the National Security Strategy in the Russian Federation 2021 marks a doctrinal gap: while the first document focused on traditional threats, the second introduces concepts of informational-psychological influence, destructive information, and notes the use of “indirect methods” to provoke social instability. It is justified that countering threats requires not only technical cybersecurity measures but also legal, institutional, and personnel solutions.