Centrifuges that stop circling. Mysterious explosions that take place in anti-missile military bases in the Middle East. Traffic lights that go dark hours before Election Day. Aircraft and rockets that crash into each other, or are re-routed automatically to other targets. This was how we all imagined cyber-warfare was going to affect the modern war landscape. Best-selling novels had been written, and Blockbuster movies had been released specifically tackling this subject for years now. And still, somehow, it seems we all missed the real prediction for modern warfare, or at least accurately assessed the real influence of cyber operations on the most vulnerable component of new age equations and the decision-making process.
Human minds.
In this session, I will carefully surmise, using real life examples, that information operations, led and supported by cyber intrusions, have the power to affect the military and diplomatic landscape, and alter reality even more than the next heist movie. The more success with social platforms, the faster and greater the process evolves. Information operations act as a weapon to influence public opinion, and actions made intentionally or even in a sub-conscious way by individuals and nations.
We anticipate that information operations, conducted in support of the political interests of different nations, will continue to adapt new techniques, increasing the targeting scope and frequency of campaigns, barring significant declines in perceived effectiveness or an increase in consequences or sanctions.
Each of these nations share macro objectives, such as supporting regime stability and expanding international influence, though target audiences, operational priorities, and tactics have differed in some instances.
