2024 is an unprecedented year for elections: dubbed an election “super year,” 72 countries, comprising 3.7 billion voters – half the world’s population – will head to the polls. Of course, in elections the stakes have always been high. What has been magnified, particularly, in election cycles over the past decade, is the extent to which technologies, namely cyber and information operations, can and are deployed in tandem, with the goal of interfering in or disrupting elections.
What are cyber and information operations? Cyber operations are carried out in cyberspace with the goal of manipulating or disrupting online systems, or gaining access to information or systems, typically employing cyberattacks. Information operations are campaigns dedicated to obtaining a ‘decisive’ or ‘favourable’ advantage by manipulating narratives especially via the use of technology. As we have seen, this technology is often widely-used social media platforms.