BMI at Cyber Week 2025 

“Sometimes deception is not just what the enemy tells us — it is what we allow ourselves to believe the enemy is telling us.”

At the Influence Cyber Security event at Cyber Week 2025, the panel “Use of Disinformation Narratives in Warfare” brought together leading experts to unpack how narratives are weaponized before, during, and after conflict, sponsored by BMI.

Moderated by Petr Pesov, Director of the The Boris Mints Institute, the discussion featured:

* BG (Ret.) Itai Brun, Former Head of the Research and Analysis Division, Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate

* Dr. Melanie G., Associate Professor of International Security, UCL

* Dr. Ariel Koch, Research Fellow, ICT, Reichman University

* Netta Marrom, Founder, CEO & President, Next Dim

The speakers explored how today’s information battles extend far beyond traditional conflict zones:

* Modern conflicts are not isolated events. What we call “Israel–Hamas” was in reality the convergence of multiple state and non-state actors conducting tactical, operational, and digital campaigns simultaneously.

* Hamas conducted targeted influence operations in Hebrew, aiming directly at Israeli society.

* Russia’s holistic warfare strategy blurs cyber, kinetic, and psychological operations, using digital tools to create information chaos, destabilize Western institutions, and shape strategic outcomes.

* Old conspiracies and hatreds, including antisemitic tropes, are continuously repackaged into new narrative frames amplified across global networks.

* The Russia–Ukraine war and Israel–Gaza war both show how narrative dominance has become a strategic objective, not an afterthought.

Looking forward, the key question emerges: How do we scale technology to outpace malicious actors who adapt instantly?

The session underscored a clear message: disinformation is not noise, it is part of a holistic war strategy.