The first-ever Moldova Security Forum was a key event dedicated to security in the region, which is particularly important given the hybrid threats targeting Moldova and CEE countries. Participants raised the issue of foreign actors’ influence on the security environment in Moldova and neighboring countries, pointing out the significant risk of further strengthening of centrifugal tendencies due to Russia’s high activity in the region and the attempts at electoral manipulation undertaken during the referendum on Moldova’s European perspective and the presidential elections held in October 2024. Nuclear and conventional threats were also widely discussed during the forum, mainly in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine. The event gathered several hundred participants from around the world, including senior representatives of NATO and the European Union.
IFSH researcher and international cybersecurity expert Mateusz Łabuz took part in the panel “Countering FIMI and strengthening societal resilience”, during which cooperative security strategies to confront emerging threats in the information space were discussed. Participants focused on ways to mitigate Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), pointing out the need to significantly strengthen social resilience, invest in technologies, counteract algorithmic amplification and consistently implement programs necessary for safeguarding democracy and social cohesion.