The publication is devoted to the study of information security as a prerequisite for the protection of national information content, since the information factor plays an important role in the creation of the state and the defense of the interests of the state. The globalization of media processes, the spread and popularity of the so-called digital media have led to a significant increase in the influence of mass communication on the formation in society not only of ideas, attitudes, values and the overall picture of the world, but also of the public and individual consciousness in general. Particularly important in this spectrum of public relations are the problems of information security. The article, based on the theoretical analysis of the scientific views of modern researchers, concludes that information security today means several fundamentally different tasks, namely: protection of the country’s IT infrastructure (the so-called cyberspace); counteraction to special operations (provocations, diversions) carried out with the help of mass media; counteracting hostile (purposeful and destructive) ideological influence; counteracting the destructive effects carried out by the media (various kinds of «toxic» content, such as the advertising of destructive cults, cruelty, deviant behavior) (IBU, 2014). Each of these tasks is characterized by a different correlation of objective and subjective factors. Information security is a state of protection of the information environment of a society that ensures its formation, use and development in the interests of citizens, organizations, and the state. Information security threats are the downside of using information technology. The sources of such threats and challenges may be international criminal groups of hackers, some IT-trained criminals, foreign government agencies, terrorist groups, nongovernmental organizations, political structures and informal extremist groups, transnational corporations and financialindustrial groups, etc. The current legal framework does not cover all the basic elements necessary to effectively counteract information threats in Ukraine. At the same time, given the multifaceted nature and complexity of the identified problem, it is necessary to stipulate the further need for scientific research of mechanisms for ensuring information security in Ukraine

information; information security; media space; social networks; communication media; information society; threats; influences