“In 2024 76 countries of the worldequal to half the world’s population, they will go to the vote and there are risks of interference and conditioning of electoral processes through the hybrid threat” warns the director of the Dis (Department of Information for Security), Elisabetta Belloni, at the presentation of the annual intelligence report. Alongside the former general secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – this morning, at Palazzo Dante -, the undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council, Alfredo Mantovanothe president of Copasir (Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic), Lorenzo Guerini (former Minister of Defense), the director of Aise (External Information and Security Agency), Giovanni Caravelliand the director of Aisi (Information and Internal Security Agency), Mario Parente. The presentation of the “Report on information policy for security”, edited by the Information System for Security of the Republic and relating to the year 2023, was held at Palazzo Dante.
“Hamas may have taken advantage of the instability in Ukraine to launch the October 7 attack”
“The issue of disinformation is being brought to the attention of the European Union” Belloni recalled, responding to a question on the upcoming European elections. “On these issues there is constant collaboration with the intelligence agencies of other countries – explained the director of the DIS – we give our contribution and follow the European directives on the matter”.
Despite “there being no intelligence evidence of a direct link” between war in Ukraine and war in the Middle East, “It cannot be ruled out that Hamas resorted to the instrument of war due to a situation of instability created in a nearby region” explained the former secretary general of the Farnesina, introducing the presentation of the annual report on information policy for security. “It cannot be ruled out – he further said – that the destabilization born from the war in Ukraine has allowed the proliferation of suitable terrain for Hamas’ attack”.
The risks facing intelligence “are the stability of economies and liberal democratic societies”. And “one of the big issues we face is the coercive economic policy exercised by China: if we want to maintain liberal democratic policies, we must implement defensive policies” Belloni said again.
Guerini (Copasir): “Disinformation represents a threat to our society”
“The awareness emerges clearly that misinformation poses a threat to our society. We must equip ourselves with tools capable of giving an effective response to this threat, while safeguarding freedom of expression and avoiding any form of censorship” underlined the president of Copasir. “This is a decisive issue” reiterated the former Defense Minister.
For this reason, continued the representative of the Democratic Party, “we must give ourselves tools to search for a effective reaction to misinformation, taking into account the need not to censor, but also considering that there are places of attack in the formation of our public opinions”. The former Defense Minister also commented on the recent release of the three Italians in Mali, who returned to Ciampino yesterday, saying that this “confirms the fruitful work of the intelligence”. In another passage of his speech, Lorenzo Guerini announced that “we are working on a report, which we will present to Parliament in May, which has as its focus the theme ofAfrica from a safety point of view”; “If we don’t take care of Africa, it will take care of us: it’s an issue we absolutely have to deal with”.