Populations are being subjected to cognitive attacks that leverage a combination of psychology and new technologies, a former Canadian spy boss has warned, identifying China and Russia as key perpetrators.
David Vigneault, former director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), delved into “cognitive warfare” while testifying before the Foreign Interference Commission on Sept. 27.
Vigneault described this form of unconventional warfare as an evolution of psychological warfare, which has long been used to degrade an adversary’s morale and will to fight.
Cognitive warfare is different in that it integrates “traditional psychological and information operations with the latest advances in computer, cognitive and neuroscience technologies,” says a CSIS intelligence assessment from September 2023 entered as evidence at the commission….