Information Warfare in the 21st Century

Information warfare has evolved from leaflets and radio broadcasts to botnets, deepfakes, and AI-generated content. While the technologies have changed, the objective remains constant: shaping perceptions, sowing doubt, and undermining trust. On September 9, Wikistrat hosted information warfare and cyber operations expert Ari Ben Am to analyze one of the most pressing security challenges of our time

Webinar Recording:

Ari Ben Am is a cyber and information warfare specialist with a focus on influence operations. CEO and co-founder of Telemetry Data Labs and Adjunct Fellow with FDD's (Foundation for Defense of Democracies) Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation.

Key Insights

1. Russia’s Full-Spectrum Campaigns Still Dominate

   Russia remains the most aggressive player in information operations, blending online networks, AI-driven content farms, fake think tanks, and even physical stunts. Campaigns like CopyCop, Doppelgänger, and Operation Overload reveal Moscow’s willingness to use every tool available to spread narratives, overwhelm fact-checkers, and intimidate adversaries.

   
   

2. China Prioritizes Strategic Narratives Over Stunts

   Beijing invests heavily in large-scale messaging operations like Spamouflage while integrating overt state media and counter-attribution efforts. Rather than relying on high-risk cyber theatrics, China uses coordinated information campaigns to challenge Western narratives, particularly around cybersecurity and Taiwan.

   
   

3. Iran Proves Boldness Can Outweigh Resources

   Lacking the technical capacity of Russia and China, Tehran compensates with audacity. Its cyber-enabled operations include hacking telecommunications firms to send mass SMS messages, hijacking broadcasts, and running hacktivist-style fronts. Iran shows how lower-tier actors can achieve global impact with creativity and risk tolerance.

   
   

4. AI Is an Accelerator, Not a Revolution

   Generative AI helps adversaries churn out content faster, but it has not fundamentally reshaped information operations. Cloud-based models provide higher quality outputs but expose operators to detection, while locally hosted models remain limited. The Slovakia election deepfake showed AI’s disruptive potential, but such decisive cases remain rare.

   
   

5. Private Sector Is Now on the Front Line

   Companies increasingly find themselves targeted by information operations, from impersonation campaigns and employee doxxing to hijacked communications. Most firms are unprepared, with little clarity on whether responsibility lies with PR, legal, or cybersecurity teams. As wars spill into corporate life, the private sector is becoming an unprotected battleground.

   
   

6. Future Scenarios: Best, Worst, and Black Swan

   - Best Case: Democracies integrate offensive and defensive strategies, dismantling hostile infrastructure, deploying effective defensive AI, and hardening private-sector resilience.

   - Worst Case: Institutional backsliding leaves adversary infrastructure untouched while states waste resources refereeing content debates, allowing hostile operations to scale freely.

   - Black Swan: Fully autonomous, end-to-end AI agents emerge, capable of generating, posting, and adapting content at scale without human oversight, overwhelming defenses and blurring the line between authentic and synthetic voices.

   
   

The age of information warfare is no longer about crude propaganda but about exploiting vulnerabilities across infrastructure, institutions, and perception. Russia’s audacity, China’s narrative power, and Iran’s bold improvisation each show different pathways of influence. Whether democracies can adapt without sacrificing openness will determine who controls the global narrative in the years ahead.