Title: Analyzing Russian Information Warfare and Influence Operations | Global Security Review
Headings: Analyzing Russian Information Warfare and Influence Operations
Analyzing Russian Information Warfare and Influence Operations
Social media and the access it provides to voter data give Russian active measures the ability to influence the outcome of an election
What is Information Warfare?
The Cyber Component
The Security Gap
Sophia Porotsky

Content: What is Information Warfare? Russian Information Warfare ( informatsionaya voyna) is rooted in Soviet thinking, dating back to the beginning of the Cold War in the form of spetspropaganda (special propaganda). Information warfare is a “holistic concept that includes computer network operations, electronic warfare, psychological operations, and information operations.” The 2010 Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation says that these measures are implemented “to achieve political objectives without the utilization of military force.” In contrast to Soviet propaganda—which the regime went to great lengths to proclaim as the truth—modern Russian information warfare does not prioritize this, modern information warfare seeks to plant seeds of doubt and distrust; to confuse, distract, polarize and demoralize. Accordingly, the creation and dissemination of misinformation, disinformation; what has commonly become known as ‘fake news,’ is a vital component of the Russian information warfare offensive strategy. This approach is often referred to by the Soviet term, ‘ active measures ,’ which “refers to the manipulative use of slogans, arguments, disinformation, and carefully selected accurate information, which the Soviets used to try to influence the attitudes and actions of foreign publics and governments.” The Cyber Component
There is much disagreement over the definition of ‘cyber.’