黑料正能量

Almost 15 percent of Americans have reported changing their opinion on political or social issues because of a social media post, according to a recent .

鈥淲hat if, immediately before spreading polarizing social media posts, our adversaries flashed subliminal images known to induce a type of anxiety called state anxiety? Evidence suggests people would perceive those posts in a more emotional way. Those images could, in turn, influence their voting behavior,鈥� said , an expert in intelligence and cybersecurity policy and assistant professor of political science with a joint appointment in the and the at 黑料正能量. 鈥淪uccessfully manipulating the cognition of a few thousand people in order to influence their perception of events could be enough to change the result of an election.鈥�

Heslen鈥檚 current research project focuses on whether exposure to certain visuals or sounds, including subliminal prompts, can induce a negative emotional arousal on people. He鈥檚 interested in learning whether that emotional state, called state anxiety, 聽can then influence behavior in a specific, predefined way 鈥� a concept he calls neurocognitive hacking.

Although research using subliminal prompts is not new and has had mixed results, Heslen鈥檚 approach is novel. He uses a specific kind of visuals previously shown to trigger people鈥檚 unconscious discriminatory behaviors toward outsiders.

鈥淣eurocognitive hacking could potentially be used as a weapon in cyberwarfare,鈥� said Heslen, who worked as an intelligence officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency and the United States Air Force for more than 20 years, specializing in combatting terrorism, counterintelligence and strategic cyber intelligence. 鈥淲e need to study these capabilities not only for our own understanding but to create sound policies and countermeasures to defend ourselves against others who may use them on us.鈥�

With 68 percent of Americans on Facebook and 73 percent on YouTube, , neurocognitive hacking could be a national security problem, Heslen said.

鈥淎s we advance our understanding of the brain and its processes, including how to manipulate it, we will need to provide neurocognitive cybersecurity to people who use information and communication technologies,鈥� Heslen said. 鈥淭his will be especially true as we spend more time in virtual worlds.鈥�

Heslen is available to discuss:

路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽How neurocognitive hacking can influence people鈥檚 behavior

路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Why neurocognitive hacking is a powerful weapon of cyberwar

路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽What kinds of policies should the government create to protect itself and its citizens from neurocognitive hacking

Heslen is a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserve and has served in military operations on four continents to include humanitarian relief operations in Mozambique and South Africa as well as an operational tour in Afghanistan. In his capacity as a reservist, he is currently assigned to the pursuing an advanced degree in strategic intelligence.

Contact us to schedule an interview with Dr. Heslen or learn more about his expertise.