The journal discusses the emerging field of social cybersecurity and its impact on national security. Social cybersecurity focuses on understanding and forecasting the effects of cyber-mediated changes in human behavior, social, cultural, and political outcomes, and building the necessary cyber infrastructure to protect society in a cyber-mediated information environment. It highlights the use of technology by state and non-state actors to manipulate information and influence beliefs, values, and social dynamics.
It also explains that social cybersecurity differs from traditional cybersecurity as it involves humans using technology to manipulate other humans, rather than hacking information systems. This practice is often referred to as “cognitive hacking” and leverages advances in targeted marketing, psychology, policy gaps, and social sciences to conduct coordinated information operations with strategic impact.
The interdisciplinary nature of social cybersecurity incorporates various fields, including political science, sociology, communication science, organization science, marketing, linguistics, anthropology, forensics, decision science, and social psychology. Researchers in this field utilize computational social science tools such as network analysis, spatial analysis, semantic analysis, and machine learning.
They also underscores the need for the Department of Defense (DOD) to understand social cybersecurity’s implications for national security, as it can have strategic effects comparable to physical warfare. It also discusses the Russian propaganda apparatus’s role in information warfare and the use of social media to sow discord and division among societies and nations.
The changing landscape of information warfare is explored, with a focus on the decentralization of information flows, the cost of entry, and the challenges of maintaining truth in a world where facts and falsehoods are often blurred. The journal points out the vulnerabilities of open societies to social manipulation through technology and the difficulties in regulating content on global social media platforms.
Introduction to various forms of social-cyber maneuvers, including information and network maneuvers, as well as the use of bots as force multipliers. It emphasizes the importance of understanding these tactics and developing policies that enable ethical maneuver in the information domain.
In conclusion, the journal stresses the need for military leaders to educate themselves and society about the decentralized information environment, the risks it poses, and the importance of multidisciplinary approaches to social cybersecurity. It also advocates for agile policies and interagency efforts to combat the information blitzkrieg faced in the modern era. Social cybersecurity is seen as a vital discipline for the foreseeable future to protect national values and security.