The conference was special host to significant international guest speakers including John A. Gentry (former CIA analyst and assistant professor at Georgetown University in Washington DC), Michael Kowalski (from the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV)), and Richard J. Aldrich (professor of international security at the University of Warwick). In their keynotes, they presented their findings on subjects such as online geopolitical influence operations, fake news and ethics in counterterrorism.
Other international researchers also presented their findings including on cyber interference in the maritime industry, legislative measures for online surveillance of public order, and how to combat false information in Dutch elections. Learnings from other times and places were also discussed such as the Iranian intervention in Iraq and the situation of German opposition in the British World War 2 strategy. In workshops, attendees worked together on topics such as artificial intelligence, EU measures against foreign interference and the counteraction of disinformation about the war in the Ukraine.
The Thorbecke Academy is working on an incredibly important topic, not just internationally but also locally. It's about protecting our democracy.
François Kloosterhuis – Strategic Advisor for the Municipality of Assen
Geopolitic influence operations
Gentry discussed the vulnerabilities in the United States that are being exploited by Russia and China in influence operations. He suggested measures for managing and preventing vulnerabilities The US, as a large world power, an open democracy and a country of immigrants, is an attractive and relatively easy target. American universities have become, like so many in Europe, vulnerable for Chinese influence operations.
Operations targeting scientists are probably more intensive and effective than for any other group. Such activities should, according to Gentry, be countered in two ways: “The government needs to change laws and regulations so as to make influence operations by adversaries impossible. And, it is essential to manage the vulnerabilities that could be exploited by other countries.”