False claims and disinformation, especially in a social media-driven society, have become major problems with potentially severe consequences. Thanks to an initial seed grant from the Data Institute for Societal Challenges and the Oklahoma Aerospace and Defense Innovation Initiative, researchers at OU and collaborating institutions have received a projected $599,947 from the National Science Foundation's Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace program to study false claim attacks.

Kash Barker, Ph.D., principal investigator and the Anadarko Presidential Professor in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Gallogly College of Engineering, will lead a team of researchers examining indirect attacks targeting infrastructure systems via unwitting users for their project, "SaTC: CORE: Small: Socio-Technical Approaches for Securing Cyber-Physical Systems from False Claim Attacks Managing."

"We've seen an increase in the number of incidents of false claims in recent years, and studies suggest that a majority of online users tend to be initially fooled by fake news," Barker said. "A potentially over-the-horizon problem could occur when these incidents are weaponized by an adversary against America's infrastructure networks."

Disinformation can be weaponized to disrupt underlying cyber-physical systems, human lives and economic productivity. Recent examples include tweets that trigger spikes in gasoline prices and false social media posts reporting impending water pumping station...

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