“We, as a state, were subject to serious hybrid attacks for the first time during the 2018 Referendum. However, back then we were still not in the NATO Alliance, at the time we used to receive some support at the bilateral level, but not as the one we receive now. The last one, was a synchronized attack with a huge intensity not seen until now in our country, which took down the website of the State Election Commission on election day, and this cannot be done by one person, so saying that 2-3 young hackers did such damage, is not true and are stories for small children”, said President Stevo Pendarovski replying to CIVIL’s question – “What is the state of the Macedonian national security and stability, having in consideration the increased fake news, hate speech, primarily of the ethnicity, and hybrid attacks?”.
He outlined that hybrid attacks are a new problem, but that luckily for us we are a NATO member since March 27 this year and that we have started receiving plentiful assistance and support from other NATO allies.
“Hybrid attacks for the NATO alliance are defined as the group of greatest threats. Lately, as our path to the EU has been slowing down, those hybrid attacks have again just as much re-emerged in the past month or two, but now we are not alone, we now exchange information and have several advisors on a bilateral basis who have come from very powerful countries in the Alliance, who precisely now are in Skopje and are helping in that direction.
Hybrid threats are practically normatively unresolved around the world. It is like some type of physical threat and obviously the world is still looking for a good response to hybrid attacks. One extreme is to regulate the social networks, which is probably impossible, and the other extreme is for the state to penetrate into the social networks, which is espionage and violation of the fundamental human rights and freedoms”, emphasized Pendarovski.
The President considers that the world and we as a state with small resources are yet to face problems with hybrid attacks. He said that even America cannot cope with hybrid attacks and through their main agencies for combatting hybrid attacks have concluded that in 2016 hybrid threats and attacks have caused great damage and have even impacted the elections.
“In the meanwhile, there are confirmed publically available reports that hybrid attacks have taken place at the last presidential elections in France, the Netherlands and in Germany. Our referendum is a minor thing for that”, says Pendarovski.
Pendarovski participated in the National Forum of Civica Mobilitas that was held on October 16 (Friday) at Hotel Aleksandar Palace in Skopje.
Dehran Muratov
Video source: Civica Mobilitas
Translation: N. Cvetkovska
