Hybrid threat actors increasingly exploit credibility in influence campaigns by posing as research institutes, news outlets, or open-source investigation platforms to appear trustworthy. This blog examines three models: OSINT investigation platforms, impersonated news outlets, and pseudo research institutes—all leveraging borrowed legitimacy to spread misleading narratives while disguising state-dictated agendas.

As cyber and influence operations converge, traditional framings fall short. The Cyfluence Research Center introduces C2SPM, Cognitive and Cyber Security Posture Management, a framework adapting proven cybersecurity principles to defend Managed Contested Spaces such as cities, campuses, and workplaces against integrated cognitive and digital threats in near real time.