InformationWarfare in the Modern Era: Enhancing an Information Strategy for today's Battlefield and Botnet Threats
In the evolving landscape of modern warfare, a new term has emerged - "hybrid war". This strategy, which blends conventional and irregular tactics, is increasingly reliant on cyber-enabled information operations. The United States is taking a comprehensive, multi-layered approach to effectively navigate and counter these operations, particularly on social media platforms.
One key component of this strategy is the deployment of advanced cyber defense tools. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently released the Eviction Strategies Tool, designed to help defenders systematically contain and evict adversaries from networks. This tool, crucial for denying adversaries footholds in digital networks that enable information operations, supports rapid and effective cyber incident response [1].
Countering disinformation and algorithm manipulation is another crucial aspect. Adversaries use sophisticated tactics such as micro-targeting, AI-generated content, bots, and data exploitation to sow doubt, division, and distraction. Fighting this requires nuanced digital literacy efforts, algorithm transparency demands, and proactive disruption of malign narratives on social media [2].
Enhanced and mandatory incident disclosure regulations, like those in the US (SEC, FTC, FCC rules) and the EU, promote rapid sharing of cyber threat information. This collaborative intelligence-sharing enables quicker recognition and mitigation of emerging information operations and cyber threats before they scale up [3].
Integrating cyber strategies into broader hybrid warfare doctrines is also essential. Lessons from conflicts such as the recent Iran-Israel 12-day war show that cyber operations are integrated with kinetic, psychological, and political tools. The US must develop doctrine and operational practices that blend cyber defenses with broader strategic and tactical responses to adversary information campaigns [4].
Building societal resilience and psychological vigilance is another key component. Since disinformation campaigns often aim to overload truth-seeking cognitive faculties and manipulate emotions, the US needs to invest in public awareness, critical thinking education, and technology to detect and flag deepfakes and AI-driven false content [2].
The United States should also engage more closely with tech companies to achieve unity of effort in a hybrid war. Cyberspace is a human-made domain where private sector companies play an outsized role. Microsoft, for instance, defines defending as educating society on civics and data literacy, empowering journalists, and constructing innovative policies [5].
In the face of ongoing challenges, such as deterring Chinese intimidation of Taiwan while Russia invades Ukraine, the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency should lead an effort to counter cyber-enabled influence operations within the United States. The Department of Defense should support this effort by harmonizing its own activities overseas with it [6].
The democratization of information has expanded the ability of insurgencies to shape perceptions of adversaries and civilian populations. Social media companies can amplify or firewall voices, making it crucial for the United States to rebalance its bureaucratic processes to engage more quickly with misinformation and propagate its messages in narrative competition [7].
The United States must continue to share information with allies, partners, and industry to counter misinformation in a hybrid war. This shared effort is evident in initiatives like Microsoft's aim for multinational, multistakeholder agreements to deter cyber-enabled influence operations [8].
In conclusion, an effective US response involves deploying advanced cyber defense technologies, fostering mandatory and rapid cyber information sharing, countering disinformation with both technical and educational means, and integrating cyber strategies into broader hybrid warfare doctrines to address social media-based influence operations comprehensively. The 2022 Digital Defense Report by Microsoft, which includes a section on cyber-enabled influence operations for the first time, underscores the growing importance of this issue [9].
[1] https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/alerts/aa22-165a [2] https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/cyber-enabled-information-operations-in-hybrid-warfare/ [3] https://www.lawfareblog.com/cyber-enabled-information-operations-hybrid-warfare [4] https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/cyber-enabled-information-operations-in-hybrid-warfare/ [5] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/business-productivity/defending-democracy-program [6] https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/alerts/aa22-165a [7] https://www.lawfareblog.com/cyber-enabled-information-operations-hybrid-warfare [8] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/business-productivity/defending-democracy-program [9] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/digitaldefense/digital-defense-report-2022
- The strategy to counter "hybrid war" in modern warfare increasingly relies on cyber-enabled information operations, a term that has recently emerged.
- The United States is adopting a multi-layered approach, deploying advanced cyber defense tools like the Eviction Strategies Tool from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
- Countering disinformation and algorithm manipulation is another critical aspect, involving digital literacy efforts, algorithm transparency demands, and proactive disruption of malign narratives on social media.
- Enhanced and mandatory incident disclosure regulations promote the rapid sharing of cyber threat information, enabling quicker recognition and mitigation of emerging operations.
- Integrating cyber strategies into broader hybrid warfare doctrines is essential, with lessons coming from conflicts like the Iran-Israel 12-day war, where cyber operations were integrated with kinetic, psychological, and political tools.
- Building societal resilience and psychological vigilance is crucial, focusing on public awareness, critical thinking education, and technology to detect and flag deepfakes and AI-driven false content.
- The United States should engage more closely with tech companies, like Microsoft, to achieve unity of effort in a hybrid war, with Microsoft defining defense as education, journalist empowerment, and policy construction.
- In response to ongoing challenges, the United States should lead an effort to counter cyber-enabled influence operations, sharing information with allies, partners, and industry to counter misinformation in a hybrid war.
