DISARM Certification (ADVANCED)
The next level of analysis: The DISARM Advanced Cognitive Security Course.
The DISARM Advanced Cognitive Security Course is a comprehensive journey into the realm of cognitive security, where information security meets the challenges of misinformation, disinformation, and influence operations in the digital age.
Inquire about the advanced cognitive security course:
The instructor: Pablo Breuer
Dr. Pablo Breuer is an executive director for enterprise security architecture at Morgan Stanley, a non-resident senior fellow of the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center and twenty-two-year veteran of the U.S. Navy with tours including the military director of the U.S. Special Operations Command Donovan Group and senior military advisor and innovation officer to SOFWERX, the National Security Agency, and U.S. Cyber Command as well as being the Director of C4 at U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. He is a DoD Cyber Cup and Defcon Black Badge winner and has been on the faculty at the Naval Postgraduate School, National University, California State University Monterey Bay, as well as a Visiting Scientist at Carnegie Mellon CERT/SEI. Pablo is also a co-founder of the Cognitive Security Collaborative, and co-author of the DISARM Framework.
Course overview:
Cognitive security is the shield against the rising tide of misinformation, disinformation, and influence operations. This course dives deep into the socio-technical aspects of identifying and countering “something is wrong on the internet.” From the intricacies of user influence online to the realms of AdTech, political campaigns, and online psyops, we take a comprehensive approach to understanding the problem and the methods to solve it.
What You'll Learn:
Influence Techniques: Understand the tactics and techniques employed in online influence campaigns.
Countermeasures: Explore tools, methods, and design patterns to detect, counter, and mitigate against online influence.
Cognitive Security Discipline: Delve into the emerging discipline of cognitive security and its integration with information security, machine learning, and geopolitics.
Practical approach:
This course is not just theory—it’s hands-on, practical learning that you can apply in the field. Guided by an extensive knowledge of DISARM’s development and the disinformation space, you’ll gain practical skills while grounding your understanding in the deep theories behind disinformation campaigns.
This course starts with the ways that users and groups are influenced online, from user experience, marketing, AdTech and online political campaigns through to astroturfing, online psyops and disinformation campaigns. We’ll look at the techniques and tactics used to create influence; the tools, methods and design patterns being created to detect, counter and mitigate against it; the emerging discipline of cognitive security; and how it meshes with other work, including information security, machine learning and geopolitics.
The course is practical, arranged around a set of python notebooks and open-source tools, but also rooted in deep theories of why and how disinformation campaigns happen.
Core learning outcomes:
After successfully completing the course, you’ll be equipped to:
- Elaborate how information security and cognitive security interact
- Evaluate persuasive technology at different scales
- Evaluate influence operation mechanisms and tracking techniques
- Use tools to investigate account and network-level coordinated inauthentic activities
- Understand ethical behaviour around misinformation and disinformation response and research.
Looking to become certified in the use of the DISARM framework? See our analyst option.
For any questions, you can email our team at info@alliance4europe.eu