The Basics of Cyber Warfare

Chapter 6

Psychological Weapons

Information in this chapter:

• Social Engineering Explained

• How the Military Approaches Social Engineering

• How the Military Defends Against Social Engineering

We talked about technical attacks in chapters four and five, now we will focus on using the target’s behaviors to gain access to their information. Psychological Operations (PSY OPS) are planned operations to convey selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and individuals [1]. Militaries have been conducting PSY OPS, or influence operations, for centuries. The United States stood up Army Special Forces ...