The “Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference” research field at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) focuses on policy-oriented research examining foreign influence and foreign interference, aimed at refining core concepts, identifying patterns of activity, and analyzing foreign influence operations targeting Israel in the digital domain. Within this framework, the Institute examines the concept known in Western policy discourse as Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI).
The research explores influence operations designed to undermine trust in state institutions, weaken social cohesion, and exacerbate internal polarization within Israeli society, particularly around sensitive democratic processes such as elections. In this context, influence operations attributed to Iranian, Russian, Muslim Brotherhood–affiliated, and other state and non-state actors have been studied.
The Institute’s work highlights the gap in Israel resulting from the absence of a comprehensive national strategy to address this challenge and offers guiding principles for a defensive policy that integrates security considerations, regulation, societal resilience, the involvement of civil society, and institutionalized engagement with digital platforms.
A further central research axis focuses on the arenas and infrastructures of influence themselves, ranging from struggles over knowledge and narrative on open platforms such as Wikipedia to studies demonstrating how knowledge systems and artificial intelligence (AI) tools have become part of an information environment increasingly vulnerable to foreign influence. In parallel, the program conceptualizes and analyzes the phenomenon of “data poisoning” as a strategic challenge and examines influence infrastructures that combine cyber capabilities, online criminal activity, and disinformation operations.
The Iranian Cyber Threat