Page 114 - Cyber Defense eMagazine forJune 2021

cyber warfare. Disinformation and influence campaigns are not a new cause for concern, and they do not
appear to be going away anytime soon.

Moving Forward
With elections, public health crises and the day to day discussions of fake news, Americans rightfully
continue to struggle to discern the real from the fake online and, more broadly, understand the importance
of being able to do so.

According to a study from Pew Research Center in September 2020, “About half of U.S. adults (53%)
say they get news from social media ‘often’ or ‘sometimes.’” And though the average internet user may
continue to stay on the lookout for the latest flood of suspicious posts from a distant relative, the gradual
barrage of dis- and misinformation can serve to slowly wear down their resolve, desensitizing them to
continued attacks from bad actors.

As the defense community continues to address the role influence campaigns play in cyber warfare,
utilizing and integrating technology platforms that can help detect, track and trace disinformation as it
spreads will better equip government agencies to proactively identify and neutralize serious threats.
Understanding how disinformation is spreading, and perhaps more importantly, who the disinformation
campaign is targeting can provide crucial for an agency’s ability to effectively combat these bad actors
before they have a chance to cause a significant lasting impact.

About the author

Dan Brahmy is the co-founder and CEO of Cyabra, a SaaS platform that
measures impact and authenticity within online conversations to detect
disinformation.

Dan can be reached online at @TheCyabra, [email protected] and at our
company website http://www.cyabra.com

Cyber Defense eMagazine – June 2021 Edition 114
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