Approach for the Organization of Protection of Military Personnel From Negative Psychological Influence

Abstract

The introduction of information and communication technologies in all spheres of human activity, including in the military, causes the emergence of a wide range of threats to information security. Among them, special place is occupied by threats of information and psychological character, which manifest themselves in the form of negative information influences on the psychological state. Such influences are realized with the help of information messages that are perceived by the person, and after processing their consciousness, they adjust their worldview: affirm or change beliefs, attitudes, principles. Particularly dangerous are the changes in the military serving in the Allied Forces in eastern Ukraine. The constant access of the personnel to the media creates the conditions for the realization of such threats. A set of destructive messages can lead to prolonged deviations from the normal psychological state of the serviceman and, as a consequence, impede the performance of functional duties. The urgent task is to develop an approach to the organization of protection against such influence.This paper analyzes the experience gained during the monitoring of the information space and describes the main methods for creating and disseminating materials with a negative information impact on the Armed Forces personnel. An approach to determining the level of negative information influence in the media is offered, which allows to quantify aspects of information confrontation and creates a theoretical basis for the development of automated complexes of support and decision making regarding the protection of personnel from negative information influence. Recommendations are given to ensure the protection of military personnel from destructive influence and formulate a general approach to its organization. Therefore, in order to achieve this goal, the tasks are solved in the following: analysis of ways and methods of implementation of negative information influences by the Russian Federation through mass media; study of experience in counteracting such influence by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Armed Forces of Ukraine; developing approaches to increase the effectiveness of such activities; making recommendations on the organization of protection of personnel involved in deterring Russia's aggression. The results obtained can be used in information operations to implement information space security measures.