Dr. Bahaa Helmy Writes: A Strategy for Confronting Electronic Crowds

Law enforcement forces in the various countries of the world bear the responsibility of maintaining public order and security and providing safety and security for human crowds on various occasions, whether national, religious or sporting occasions or other gatherings. These forces work to prepare and qualify the units responsible for securing these crowds, with planning and training on scenarios and operations for managing the security risks and crises that may arise from them. My treatment of the concept of the electronic crowd, which I define in this article, differs from human crowds in its nature, means, tools, the limits of its influence and its target; the bodies concerned with confronting it and the strategies for dealing with the dynamics of the movement of the intangible electronic crowd also differ. It is accepted that the battle to control the digital revolution has slipped out of the hands of those who invented it in the first place; that is why the electronically advanced countries have established virtual armies, institutions and units that work around the clock in a state of permanent electronic mobilization, ready to defend themselves against any hostilities, which are uncovered in what are known as electronic wars on social media. These attacks often paralyze life and the targeted institutions and services in any society that depends on the World Wide Web. This means that the battlefield on which electronic mobilization takes place is social media, its means are all devices connected to the internet, and its tools are many, among them the touch of a finger on (like & share), which fills cyberspace with messages sent to anyone who wants to pick them up anywhere on earth at the very moment of sending. As for the target in these wars, it is influencing thought, psychological warfare, the war of rumors, intellectual disinformation and the mental falsification of individuals to make them frustrated and to make them doubt the integrity of the institutions of the state to which they belong — or mobilizing for any other matter. The electronic mobilization of public opinion is influenced by the collective mind, which increases the extent and rate of its influence and direction and facilitates the process of turning electronic crowds into crowds on the ground. Although there has been much talk of generational wars, we need a new and rapid strategy to confront electronic wars, not only in the security, economic, social and other fields, but in confronting wars of ideas, the mobilization of public opinion and the spreading of discord and division to weaken society and its unity — among the most dangerous types of challenges, since they deal with the mind and the emotions under the influence of certain circumstances. Strategies of confrontation involve preparing specialized forces with special traits and capabilities to confront the most violent degrees of targeting, cunning and electronic violence, which enjoys technological, material and moral support from bodies and states that sponsor terrorism and seek to target Egyptian society and its values. I envisage the importance of preparing an electronic army whose soldiers are not only military or security personnel but specialists in all sciences, comprising within its organization three main units. The first is the defense unit, which includes an adequate number of specialists in detecting indicators of electronic danger and may use all the protective means planned in advance. The second unit is an adequate number of advisers and experts in risk and crisis analysis and management, and in managing public opinion and electronic crowds, to prevent crises, deal with them and their developments, and bring them under control. The third unit I would see formed from a group of gifted adolescents and young people in the field of electronic games, especially those with the capabilities to deal with viruses, harnessing all the resources that allow them unlimited innovation and creativity. The electronic mobilization of public opinion is one of the means of electronic warfare on social media, which differs from conventional wars and their weapons and forces; therefore the management of the national electronic defense units must move beyond the scope of traditional methods, because the thinking, concepts, methods, tools, language and speeds are different — with the importance of coordination and integration among the information entities. Some pages have previously appeared under the name “electronic army”, but no trace of them was found in confronting the wars that targeted public opinion in the past period. The targeting of the homeland electronically is expected to increase in various forms in the coming period, which makes it imperative to benefit from experience and to provide more cultural awareness, develop consciousness and affirm identity.