Extremists of all ilk increasingly use social media outlets, to influence, recruit, train, maintain command and control (C2), and conduct fundraising. To date, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is one of the most prolific representatives of this practice. ISIS has effectively manipulated social media, making it a part of an effective psychological operation (PSYOP) campaign, to win the hearts, minds, and pocketbooks of potential supporters. Due to the growth of the Internet, militaries, law enforcement, terrorists, and criminals around the globe are fighting, and conducting PSYOPs in this newest domain: Cyberspace. Just as airplanes and radios were credited with opening up new methods of disseminating propaganda and misinformation, the Internet is credited for bringing PSYOPs tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) to cyberspace. While vulnerabilities exist, to "fight fire with fire" or use cyber PSYOP to counter the cyber PSYOP offensive of ISIS, legal gray areas requiring consideration exist. These gray areas are not necessarily prohibitive in nature, but due diligence should be afforded them in the planning and scope of a counter cyber PSYOP campaign. In addition to domestic laws and policy, international law is another layer to the legal considerations faced by the U.S. and its allies in implementing counter cyber PSYOPs. This purpose of this paper was to examine the capabilities, vulnerabilities, and the utilization of social media, as a cyber PSYOP tool used by ISIS and specifically, how ISIS uses social media to further its cause and the vulnerabilities that exist to counter its effectiveness. Finally, legal considerations, foreign and domestic, concerning a counter cyber PSYOP campaign against ISIS were explored. Keywords: Cybersecurity, Christopher Riddell, cyber PSYOPs, counternarrative, propaganda, Internet vulnerabilities, recruitment, radicalization, ISIS, counter cyber PSYOPs, Tallinn Manual, social media, and Ruse.
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