SAFEGUARDING TRUTH UNDERSTANDING CYBER DISINFORMATION ATTACKS AND DEFENDING AGAINST THEM Roy Zinman Senior OSINT and Cybersecurity consultant, Israel WHAT IS INFORMATION WARFARE ? Information warfare is the tactical and strategic use of information to gain an advantage Using information to mislead, subvert and paralyze the opponent Information Warfare existed throughout the ages The information age and social media made information warfare infinitely more potent, dangerous and effective: Accurate intelligence Powerful and fast dissemination Immediate feedback cycle EVOLUTION OF A CYBER THREAT State level strategic attack exposed Other state and private actors imitate methods and tools Everyday attacks INFORMATION WARFARE GLOSSARY INFORMATION WARFARE CAMPAIGN Narrative Messaging Target Audience Digital assets Online Conversation Leaked Information News websites Forums Blogs Trolls BotsPOLITICAL AND STATE -LEVEL THREAT ACTORS –2019 (PARTIAL LIST) Israel Iran Pakistan Saudi ArabiaPhilippines Moldova COMMERCIAL AND CRIMINAL DISINFORMATION ATTACKS Combining tools and methods from state -sponsored arrays with influencer marketing technologies and know -how Affecting competitors by amplifying negative news Manipulating the price of traded stocks by leveraging sentiment –based trading algorithms Most affected verticals: Pharmaceuticals Automotive Natural ResourcesSHORT AND DISTORT Attackers obtain negative information on the target Attackers accumulate short stock positions Negative information is released and amplified in multiple outlets Social discourse is directed at the negative information Short position is closed Information is rebuked –Too late !