The Political Psychology of Cyberterrorism

Shandler, Ryan; Snider, Keren L. G.; Canetti, Daphna

doi:10.1017/9781108779104.038

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Second, the subjective perception of an act as terrorism can influence political attitudes ranging from support for military action to shifts in political orientation ( Getmansky and Zeitzoff 2014 ). These political effects are mediated by the subjective perception of threat ( Huddy et al 2005 ; Snider et al 2022 ). For instance, perceiving an attack as terrorism rather than crime leads to distinct levels of anxiety and fear ( Shechory-Bitton and Cohen-Louck 2018 ), which in turn shifts political attitudes such as militaristic tendencies, and willingness to sacrifice civil liberties for security ( Snider et al 2021 ).…”

Section: Why Is Public Opinion Important In Understanding Cyberterror...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Insofar as cyberterrorism is just a methodological subset of terrorism, the public may search for characteristics it associates with conventional terrorism. Yet while cyberterrorism is unquestionably related, research has shown that it is substantively different from conventional terrorism in its practice and effects ( Backhaus et al 2020 ; Shandler, Snider, and Canetti 2022 ; Shandler and Gomez 2022 ; Shandler et al, 2023 ). We therefore hypothesize that there will be several distinguishing predictive features that are unique to cyberterrorism.…”

Section: When Do Cyberattacks Become Cyberterrorism In the Eyes Of Th...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Public Opinion and Cyberterrorism

Shandler

Kostyuk

Oppenheimer

2023

Public Opinion Quarterly

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Research into cyber-conflict, public opinion, and international security is burgeoning, yet the field suffers from an absence of conceptual agreement about key terms. For instance, every time a cyberattack takes place, a public debate erupts as to whether it constitutes cyberterrorism. This debate bears significant consequences, seeing as the ascription of a “terrorism” label enables the application of heavy-handed counterterrorism powers and heightens the level of perceived threat among the public. In light of widespread conceptual disagreement in cyberspace, we assert that public opinion plays a heightened role in understanding the nature of cyber threats. We construct a typological framework to illuminate the attributes that drive the public classification of an attack as cyberterrorism, which we test through a ratings-based conjoint experiment in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel (N = 21,238 observations). We find that the public (1) refrains from labeling attacks by unknown actors or hacker collectives as cyberterrorism; and (2) classifies attacks that disseminate sensitive data as terrorism to a greater extent even than physically explosive attacks. Importantly, the uniform public perspectives across the three countries challenge a foundational tenet of public opinion and international relations scholarship that divided views among elites on foreign policy matters will be reflected by a divided public. This study concludes by providing a definitive conceptual baseline to support future research on the topic.

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Section: Why Is Public Opinion Important In Understanding Cyberterror...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: When Do Cyberattacks Become Cyberterrorism In the Eyes Of Th...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Opinion and Cyberterrorism

Shandler

Kostyuk

Oppenheimer

2023

Public Opinion Quarterly

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“…As a consequence of their threat-driven emotional reorientation, voters adopt certain policy positions to regain a sense of security. When it comes to cyber-threats, recent empirical research verified that public exposure to cyberattacks leads to substantial shifts in political attitudes ( Shandler, Snider, and Canetti 2022 ). Various studies have shown how exposure to cyberattacks corrodes pub-lic trust in government institutions ( Gross, Canetti, and Vashdi 2016 ;Shandler and Gomez 2022 ), and influences support for intrusive surveillance .…”

Section: Indirect Effects: Psychologically Harmful Cyber Operations S...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cyberattacks, Psychological Distress, and Military Escalation: An Internal Meta-Analysis

Shandler

Gross

Canetti

2022

Journal of Global Security Studies

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To what extent can cyberattacks wreak havoc and terrorize modern society? Until now, this question has revolved around the potential of cyber operations to cause physical destruction or other material harm. In this paper, we propose a broader interpretation. We submit that assessing cyber-threats through the prism of physical destruction has obscured the human dimension of the threat. Instead, we propose calculating the gravity of cyberattacks by measuring psychological distress. This approach recognizes that even seemingly inconsequential cyberattacks can levy tremendous damage by traumatizing civilians, undermining societal cohesion, and exacerbating cycles of violence. To test whether cyberattacks cause significant individual harm, we employ an internal meta-analysis looking at eighteen studies conducted in three countries over 6 years. Across these studies, we exposed 6,020 respondents to simulated cyberattacks and conventional attacks. We conclude that cyberattacks can cause high levels of psychological harm—equal even to that caused by conventional political violence and terrorism. This finding overturns a widely accepted view that cyberattacks are a mere irritant at best and a threat to information security at worst. Through this lens, the findings suggest that even nonphysically destructive cyberattacks can trigger consequences that constitute a legally defined armed attack that permits using armed force in self-defense. We conclude by discussing how the onset of psychological distress generates political pressure in support of retaliation and can lead to military escalation.

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“…Our findings emphasize the need to pay attention to a frequently overlooked stakeholder in the cyber conflict literature – the general public. Voters experience cyberattacks as enormously threatening and anxiety-provoking (Shandler et al, 2022b). When cyberattacks spill over to critical infrastructure, the public is unlikely to simply ignore the attack as acceptable sub-crisis maneuvering.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cyberattacks and public opinion – The effect of uncertainty in guiding preferences

Jardine,

Porter,

Shandler

2024

Journal of Peace Research

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When it comes to cybersecurity incidents – public opinion matters. But how do voters form opinions in the aftermath of cyberattacks that are shrouded in ambiguity? How do people account for the uncertainty inherent in cyberspace to forge preferences following attacks? This article seeks to answer these questions by introducing an uncertainty threshold mechanism predicting the level of attributional certainty required for the public to support economic, diplomatic or military responses following cyberattacks. Using a discrete-choice experimental design with 2025 US respondents, we find lower attributional certainty is associated with less support for retaliation, yet this mechanism is contingent on the suspected identity of the attacker and partisan identity. Diplomatic allies possess a reservoir of good will that amplifies the effect of uncertainty, while rivals are less often given the benefit of the doubt. We demonstrate that uncertainty encourages the use of cognitive schemas to overcome ambiguity, and that people fall back upon pre-existing and politically guided views about the suspected country behind an attack. If the ambiguity surrounding cyberattacks has typically been discussed as an operational and strategic concern, this article shifts the focus of attention to the human level and positions the mass public as a forgotten yet important party during cyber conflict.

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The Political Psychology of Cyberterrorism

Cited by 9 publications

References 45 publications

Public Opinion and Cyberterrorism

Public Opinion and Cyberterrorism

Cyberattacks, Psychological Distress, and Military Escalation: An Internal Meta-Analysis

Cyberattacks and public opinion – The effect of uncertainty in guiding preferences

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