Digital Violence (Cyberbullying, Doxxing, Swatting) as a New Challenge to National Security

Abstract

The article analyzes the phenomenon of digital abuse — deliberately harming someone using information and communication technologies. It looks at the evolution of threats from purely interpersonal conflicts in the digital space to factors that undermine social stability and state sovereignty. Using three key forms of destructive activity (cyberbullying, doxxing, and swatting) as examples, it examines how they have transformed from tools of harassing individuals into methods of hybrid confrontation. The author argues that the mass scale and anonymity of these practices lead to the erosion of public trust and the delegitimization of state institutions. Special attention is given to the vulnerability of critical categories of people (government officials, law enforcement officers, judges, emergency medical workers), whose de-anonymization through doxxing can paralyze the functioning of entire social subsystems. Based on an analysis of domestic experience, preventive and repressive measures are proposed. The conclusion is made about the need to revise the national security doctrine to include the protection of citizens' informational and psychological space among the state's unconditional priorities.