A Beast of a Different Kind: Malign Foreign Information Operations (CIGI Paper No. 354)

Miller's May 2026 CIGI paper makes a foundational categorisation argument: information attacks are a categorically distinct threat from cyberattacks and financial crimes, and must be addressed with a strategy specifically tailored to their unique characteristics rather than being assimilated into existing frameworks designed for other threat types. The paper analyses how information operations move independently and in tandem with military power, cross borders freely, target the psyche as well as the digital space, and produce effects that are difficult to measure and attribute — characteristics that make existing counter-strategies systematically ill-fitted.

The benchmarking against allied frameworks is the paper's most practically useful dimension: Miller compares Canada's counter-information-operations approach against those of the US, UK, EU, and Australia, identifying where Canada lags and what institutional and policy reforms are required. For practitioners working in any of these jurisdictions, the comparative dimension is valuable — understanding where your own country's approach sits relative to allies and where the gaps are provides a structured basis for reform advocacy. The Canadian policy focus does not limit the analytical utility for non-Canadian readers.