Cyber - Project - Cyber-Enabled Information and Influence Warfare and Manipulation: Understanding Problems, Developing Solutions
Cyber-Enabled Information and Influence Warfare and Manipulation: Understanding Problems, Developing Solutions
Hostile cyber operations are characterized as acts of war in academic and policy debates, which in turn has led researchers to apply theories of war to understand actor behavior in this domain. Yet recent events show that many hostile cyber operations fall short of the threshold of war; they are more appropriately in the realm of intelligence operations and covert action. This project examines the psychological, organizational, legal, and international security dimensions of cyber-enabled influence/information warfare and manipulation (IIWAM) operations through this new framing of the problem. The project explores how individuals receive information in a saturated and increasingly manipulated information environment; what geopolitical forces drive state and non-state actors to wage cyber-enabled IIWAM operations; how U.S. national security agencies are structured to deal with information operations; why U.S. democracy is particularly vulnerable; and potential counters to cyber-enabled IIWAM.