Andrew Knaggs, deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and combating terrorism, said the U.S. Special Operations Command must explore and develop new information warfare methods, Air Force Times reported Wednesday.
“We need to move beyond our 20th century approach to messaging and start looking at influence as an integral aspect of modern irregular warfare,†Knaggs said during a recent defense industry symposium.
USSOCOM looks to adopt the use of analytics and other technologies to cope with and address influencing operations of adversaries such as Russia. In the modern age, U.S. adversaries leverage social media to interfere in elections, shifting from the older telephone-radio approach, the report noted.
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Knagg emphasized the threat that disinformation represents to the country’s interests, and that SOCOM must augment existing efforts to adapt. The Pentagon official added the command would employ technologies that allow for information operations in environments with limited connectivity.
