During the last week we observed, collected and analyzed endpoints of information related to cyber-based hostile influence campaigns (including Cyfluence attacks). This weeks report is a summary of what we regard as the main events.

Viral images featuring the ‘One Piece’ pirate flag, adopted as a symbol by protestors, made front page news and social media was soon flooded with cross-country messages of support and solidarity. In this CRC Spotlight article, we examine the potential operational implications of this development: how commercial ride hailing apps can serve as channels for on-the-ground support and how they might represent a new vector for Influence Operations.

This week in Cyfluence: Russia weaponizes grief with AI-generated "ghost" soldiers, China uses chatbots for espionage, and coordinated disinformation campaigns target democratic processes and alliances globally. Our weekly review breaks down the latest in hostile cyber influence.

A September 3 data leak exposed internal files of pro-Russian Moldovan politician Ilan Shor and his “Victorie Bloc,” revealing a financed influence network linked to Russia. The leak, paired with targeted intimidation messages, severely disrupted the group. Analysts view it as a coordinated “Cyfluence Counteroperation” that effectively neutralized and delegitimized Shor’s organization just before Moldova’s elections.

During the last week we observed, collected and analyzed endpoints of information related to cyber-based hostile influence campaigns (including Cyfluence attacks). This weeks report is a summary of what we regard as the main events.

West Africa’s Sahel has become a key cognitive battlefield. Its information space provides fertile ground for narrative warfare, a unique environment defined by a complex hybridity where traditional oral storytellers are reborn as digital influencers on platforms like TikTok. This fragile ecosystem is also a crowded arena for global actors like Russia, Turkey, and China competing to fill the strategic vacuum left by the departure of France and other western powers.