Abstract
Information warfare is one crucial aspect of cyber security. Unlike physical targets, such as network systems or electronic devices, information warfare is aimed at manipulating what people believe to be true and thereby swaying public perceptions. A more organized and advanced form of information warfare is called cognitive warfare. It is a psychological strategy intended to gradually influence the targeted public's belief, opinion, and perception about a subject, such as an event, a politician, a government, or an ideology in general. This chapter discusses the tactics commonly used in cognitive warfare. Using the China-Taiwan relationship as an example, this chapter illustrates how such warfare is carried out.
TopWhat Is Cognitive Warfare?
Cognitive warfare can be defined as “an unconventional form of warfare that uses cyber tools to alter enemy cognitive processes, exploit mental biases or reflexive thinking, and provoke thought distortions, influence decision-making and hinder actions, with negative effects, both at the individual and collective levels (Claverie & du Cluzel, 2022). Alternatively, it can also be defined as “the weaponization of public opinion by an external entity for the purpose of influencing public and governmental policy and destabilizing public institutions (Bernal et al., 2020). Cognitive warfare is now an important aspect of many government’s cyber operations. It is usually seen as a form of military operation (Chiriac, 2022), but cognitive warfare can be carried out by any civilians as well.
The abovementioned definitions tend to assume cognitive warfare is aimed at foreign enemies. Although this is largely true, it is not always the case. Cognitive warfare can also be directed at any audiences that the enforcer intends to control or gain support from. This implies a government can engage in cognitive warfare on its own people in order to strengthen support or suppress domestic dissidents. As most countries now seem to face internal struggle no less than external threats, cognitive warfare can be seen as an approach to stabilizing a government’s political power or to help an opposite party attain ruling power. The most notable example is probably regarding the former president of USA, Donald Trump. His MAGA campaign, both officially and unofficially, has alleged the mainstream media in USA as fake news generators. Essentially, he is accusing his political enemies within the country of using mainstream media as a tool to wage cognitive warfare on him to lessen his political influence.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Misinformation: Inaccurate information that is likely due to ignorance or misunderstanding rather than intentional deception.
DPP: Democratic Progressive Party is a Taiwanese nationalist political party, which is best known for its anti-Chinese stance.
Disinformation: Inaccurate information that is intentionally misleading and deceptive.
Weaponized Information: Messages that are designed to affect the recipient’s perception so much that it can bring about a change in belief or attitude toward someone or something.
Three Warfares: A political strategy developed by the People’s Republic of China with the intention to incorporate non-military operations to engage in cognitive warfare, including psychological warfare, public opinion warfare, and legal warfare.
Cognitive Warfare: An organized cyber operation that is aimed at manipulating an intended audience’s opinion and belief by shaping their perceptions through deliberately designed information which may or may not contain truth.
Public Opinion: People’s collective view on a specific topic in a society.