Ep 153 Exploiting Chaos: How Malicious Non-State Actors Leverage COVID-19 to their Advantage in Cyberspace

During the pandemic we have heard a lot about state actors engaging in threat-related activity. But what are non-state actors up to? In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Alex Wilner and Casey Babb to discuss their forthcoming chapter on this very question. Wilner and Baab identify three major activities that non-state actors are engaging in online: delegitimation, recruitment and incitement. After describing these activities, the three discuss what might be done about this problem. At a time when Parliament is investigating the regulation of social media companies, are there options for both the government and private sector to curb the risk of violence?

Note - Wilner and Babb’s chapter will be appearing in Leah West, Thomas Juneau, and Amarnath Amarasingam, eds. Stress Tested: The COVID-19 Pandemic and Canadian National Security. Calgary: University of Calgary Press – open source and out this spring! Stay tuned to the podcast and Intrepidpodcast.com for more information.