Zero-days are vulnerabilities that the software vendor does not know about and thus cannot provide a patch for. Their value has caused markets to develop, divided by the purchase intention. This thesis focuses on the white and grey markets, that is those buying to patch and those buying to exploit. While states generally have an interest in both, they currently spend money to exploit zerodays, keeping software insecure. The lack of knowledge and awareness surrounding this practice is the problem targeted in this thesis. Serious games, aiming to be both entertaining and educational, represent one opportunity to create awareness. They fit our circumstances particularly well because understanding the problem space requires adversarial thinking and lots of different concepts. Our research goal has thus been to create a serious game that accurately illuminates the dilemma experienced by states. Design science was the research strategy employed to reach the stated goal. Our main contribution is Minimator, a multiplayer, web-based game in which players, acting as states, have to protect their infrastructure and deal with zero-day markets. Additionally, we present a formal model of states’ treatment of zero-day markets developed using game theory and shown to resemble the n-players prisoners’ dilemma. An expert evaluation was conducted, delivering promising results in terms of gameplay appeal, and accuracy. A naturalistic evaluation remains, but is suggested in detail for future endeavours. Minimator is original as, to our knowledge, no similar artefact exists. It provides value by potentially creating a starting point for and encouraging an informed, public debate about the trade-off between national and infrastructure security, which is inherently political.

This thesis shall utilise digital humanities methods via modest data-collection tools to quantify and study the online discussion involving Russia and Ukraine online. The research shall apply sentiment analysis to Twitter data to understand the general divisiveness online relating to the war in Ukraine. In doing so, a foundation is formed to begin extrapolating theories on the extent to which disinformation and synthetic media shall mutate this already sensitive situation. Secondly, this thesis shall parse data from groups on the Russian website VK using groups which circulate blatantly dishonest content and disinformation, ultimately revealing how engagement and posting trends on these communities have developed over the timeline of this conflict. The research will also draw from two external studies to contrast the findings. Finally, beyond discussing past and present examples of disinformation, this thesis shall conclude by theorising the trajectory AI will take to alter this evolving dynamic. This troublesome theory is conceivable through mediums like deepfakes and predominantly concerns their scalability, which could shortly become mass-produced items as their creation becomes increasingly more accessible. This shall be attempted by quantifying the total number of tweets produced globally during the period the deepfake of president Zelensky circulated. Despite being in its infancy, this thesis shall ultimately argue that artificial media shall become more ubiquitous as catalysts of disinformation.

Vi har studerat cyberdomänen i perspektivet från en officer och vad denne förväntas kunna om och implementera ur cyberdomänen på sitt system. Studien är genomförd med fokus mot förståelse för utmaningen och komplexiteten som kommer av att integrera civilt dominerad verksamhet i en militär organisation. Vi har antagit en induktiv ansats med kvalitativ metod genom intervjuer och litteraturstudier. Under tiden som studien genomfördes skedde den ryska invasionen av Ukraina, vilket gav ytterligare bidrag till den empiriska delen av studien när cyberområdet hamnade än mer i fokus. Utgångspunkten för analysen har varit tidigare professionsforskning med fokus på officersprofessionen samt forskning som beskriver cyberområdet och dess komplexitet. Analysen är baserad på de kategorier som framkommit i den data som insamlats. Vid studiens slutförande framkommer behovet av att samtliga blivande, och till viss del nuvarande, officerare erhåller en förståelse för cyberdomänens möjlighet till påverkan på eget system. För att möta områdets komplexitet och kunna utbilda inom behöver styrdokument och utbildningsunderlag utvecklas parallellt. Författarna uppfattar att det militära systemet genomgår en teknikutveckling i vilken cyberdomänens framväxt gör sig mer påträngande för varje dag som går. Stora förändringar som får påverkan på stridsfältet har skett tidigare genom historien och kommer med stor sannolikhet även ske i framtiden, vilket organisationen behöver förhålla sig till. / We have studied the cyber domain in the perspective of an officer and what an officer is expected to know about and implement from the cyber domain on current technical systems. The study is conducted with a focus on understanding the challenge and complexity that comes from integrating civilian-dominated activities into a military organization. We have adopted an inductive approach with qualitative methods through interviews and literature studies. During the course of the study, the Russian invasion of Ukraine took place, which made further contributions to the empirical part of the study when the cyber field came into even more focus. The starting point for the analysis has been previous professional research with a focus on the officer profession as well as research that describes the cyber field and its complexity. The analysis is based on the categories that emerged in the data collected. Upon completion of the study, the need arises for all forthcoming, and to some extent present, officers to gain an understanding of the cyber domain's ability to influence current technical systems. In order to meet the complexity of the area and be able to handle education, regulatory documents and training documents need to be developed in parallel. The authors perceive the armed forces is undergoing a technological and organizational military reform in which the emergence of the cyber domain is becoming more intrusive with each passing day. Technological advancements have taken place earlier in history and will in all probability also take place in the future, which the organization needs to relate to.

No description available.

No description available.