Italian defense minister warns of 'cognitive warfare' threat

Cyber and cognitive threats

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto on Saturday warned that cyberattacks and emerging hybrid warfare tactics pose escalating security risks, calling for a shift from reactive defense to anticipatory strategies. In a statement posted on X, he noted that he had spent four years highlighting hybrid warfare risks, but only now is the threat garnering broader attention.

"Yet we continue to underestimate other aspects, such as cognitive warfare," Crosetto said, referring to operations encompassing the profiling of individuals, the exploitation of personal data and neuroscience to shape behavior, and systematic information manipulation. He cautioned that adversaries are expanding their presence across digital domains, indicating that states risk overlooking cognitive warfare perils until impacts manifest.

Call for anticipatory action

The minister urged adoption of a comprehensive security framework, emphasizing that protection against such threats requires national-level prioritization. "Let's stop chasing threats and start anticipating them, including by making them harder to carry out," he said, adding that authorities must act before vulnerabilities translate into attacks.

Crosetto emphasized that security planning cannot wait for crises to emerge. "Now, not when it is too late," he added, according to Anadolu Agency.