BCG @BCGLimaCharlie - Twitter Profile

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19 days ago

https://t.co/MPDoiWmINv 1/3 “Consider for a moment: Whose off-the-cuff input on a rapidly evolving crisis, national security threat or proposed federal legislation would you be more receptive to—your civilian neighbor or a decorated veteran with more than three decades of global security expertise?” “Due to their demonstrated capabilities, professional experiences and completion of some of our nation’s most rigorous and regulated training programs, most of us would deem the veteran’s voice more trustworthy in times of chaos and calamity. For that reason, in recent years, our adversaries have increasingly prioritized attempts to manipulate the cognitive domains of veterans in hopes of gaining a strategic entry point into dismantling foundational aspects of American society, order and culture.” “Suppose a veteran falls prey to adversarial manipulation and unknowingly shares this deception with their communities. In that case, our adversaries’ influence is far more likely to slip past our natural defenses and skepticism, radiating throughout our home front under the guise of our natural inclination to trust those with service backgrounds. The mouthpiece that our adversaries can access to detonate foreign influence stateside is critical in amplifying the payload. While American veterans may no longer be on the frontlines of the physical battlefield, it’s imperative they recognize their high-value target status regarding information warfare and take steps to defend and protect their cognitive spaces, communities of influence, and, ultimately, our nation.” “In today’s politically charged climate, the online threat to our service members, veterans and their families from foreign adversaries is elevated. Hostile countries such as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea seek to exploit specific groups by preying on their status as trusted and revered members of society to propagate—wittingly or unwittingly—their state-sponsored agendas. The mechanisms these foreign adversaries use against this demographic are effective because they play on their sense of duty or leverage innocuous employment opportunities.” “Russia is regarded as an enduring online threat to veterans and service members due to the nation’s highly sophisticated and diverse techniques used in disinformation campaigns that seek to push Kremlin-backed narratives. Some of these techniques include:” “Russia’s efforts to push foreign propaganda on websites disguised to resemble legitimate American media outlets give additional credibility to their messages. According to The Washington Post, a unit within Russia’s military intelligence apparatus responsible for conducting sabotage, political interference and other operations targeting the West is using American veterans to sow discord and amplify sociopolitical divisions across the United States. Veterans engaging with these websites have been observed sharing disinformation about American presidential candidates and propagating misinformation about unlawful activities that the U.S. military and NATO are purportedly undertaking in Eastern Europe, per a Russian-backed U.S. press outlet.” “Attackers also create online personas and bots that mimic veterans to disseminate disinformation regarding veteran affairs or related media during key political campaigns on mainstream and alternative social media platforms.” “Finally, Russia’s development of online recruiting ads that using propaganda and misinformation to play on veterans’ sense of duty and patriotism to recruit these individuals to work for Russian paramilitary units or intelligence services.” “China, however, uses diverse cyber tactics to target U.S. veterans and service members on various narratives ranging from flashpoint domestic topics in the United States to influencing key topics for Beijing, including their “One China” policy with Taiwan.”

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