Contemporary Influence Operations in Cyberspace - An Analysis of the Phenomenon

The information contained in this chapter attempts to provide a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon of influence operations as one of the most rapidly developing threats in cyberspace. It presents a number of considerations arising from a wide range of activities of different types of actors (state, non-state, etc.), as well as definitions of 'cyberspace', 'influence operations', and 'active measures'. It also discusses specific examples of influence operations, the tools used in their process and techniques to combat them. The chapter is based on the author's thesis entitled Influence operations on the security of users of cyberspace, written under the supervision of Dr. Jerzy Kosiński as part of the postgraduate course Cyber Security Management conducted at the Warsaw School of Economics.