An international security expert has warned Pacific governments to treat hybrid warfare — particularly digital disinformation and cyberattacks — as a national security threat on par with traditional military operations, in new remarks delivered at a regional security forum. Professor Doctor Carlo Masala, chair of the Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies at the Bundeswehr University of Munich, said hybrid campaigns are now a distinct form of operation designed to rapidly erode public trust in governments.
Speaking at the conference, Masala singled out disinformation fuelled by deepfakes and lightning-fast social media campaigns as a primary tool for spreading rumours and instability. “Now you set up something and through X, Blue Sky, whatever is there, Facebook or whatever, you can start a huge disinformation campaign within seconds, which is much more effective,” he told delegates. He warned such campaigns are not necessarily a prelude to conventional military action but operate independently — and therefore must be countered as a standalone threat.
Masala criticised what he called a common global blind spot: national planning that does not adequately incorporate hybrid-threat responses. “They start a campaign within five seconds, we need 72 hours to counter it, that’s far too late,” he said, urging governments to “become hybrid” themselves by building much faster detection and response capabilities. His comments underscore a growing concern across the Pacific, where small island states can be particularly vulnerable to rapid information shocks and manipulative narratives that cross borders instantly.
Beyond disinformation, Masala drew attention to the acute risks of cyberattacks against critical infrastructure, especially during natural disasters. He warned of scenarios such as GPS interference that could disrupt navy food deliveries or cyber intrusions that knock out hospital power at moments of peak demand. Those examples were framed as particularly worrying for Pacific Island nations, which routinely contend with cyclones, flooding and other climate-driven emergencies that already strain resilience.
The expert’s intervention arrives as Fiji and other Pacific governments have been sharpening their focus on digital security. Fiji this year launched a National Digital Strategy and established Fiji CERT, and officials have signalled cybersecurity as central to national resilience. Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka earlier highlighted the borderless nature of crime and security threats at the same regional gathering, while acting Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad has spoken publicly about embedding cybersecurity into the country’s digital transformation.
Masala urged a regional approach to the problem, arguing that unilateral action by individual governments will be insufficient against transnational hybrid campaigns. “A government alone, due to the transnational nature, can’t tackle these kinds of issues properly,” he said, calling for Pacific Island nations to pool capabilities, share intelligence and coordinate faster countermeasures to protect public trust and critical systems.
The remarks represent the latest development in a widening policy conversation in the Pacific about how to balance rapid digital growth with the need for strengthened cyber and information-resilience. With disinformation able to sweep across the region within seconds, Masala’s message to policymakers was blunt: speed, regional cooperation and reframing hybrid threats as discrete security priorities are now essential.
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