The conversation starts in the “messy middle” of warfare: grey zone campaigning, activity that sits between peace and war and is designed to achieve strategic objectives while staying below the legal threshold of armed conflict.

Hacking is often framed as a threat. In public debate, it appears as a breach, an intrusion, a crime. But, as Baptiste Robert argues, hacking at its core is about understanding systems, how they work, how they fail, and where power hides.

Sohan, who has studied influence operations and artificial intelligence ethics through an OSINT lens, told The Intelligence Spotlight podcast that modern disinformation campaigns are less about persuasion and more about disruption. They thrive on fear, doubt, and polarization—on making people believe that “the other side is more gullible.”