The Republic of Korea Army has commissioned a policy study to assess how artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies could reshape its counterintelligence capabilities.
The move will cover future counterintelligence organizations, operational concepts, and equipment, including capabilities to counter intelligence activities by North Korea and other neighboring countries.
AI Changes the Counterintelligence Mission
AI and advanced technologies are expanding the counterintelligence battlefield beyond traditional espionage and protection of military secrets.
Cyberattacks, disinformation, social media manipulation, drone-based intelligence collection, and electronic warfare are creating new avenues for adversaries to gather information and influence operations.
The army says its counterintelligence units lack clear operational concepts, face peacetime legal restrictions, and rely on systems that have not kept pace with technological change.
The study will evaluate intelligence collection and analysis tools, counterintelligence databases, information-sharing systems, and practices used by foreign militaries.
AI could help process large volumes of information more quickly by combining data from multiple sources and identifying patterns or activity that may warrant further investigation.
AI Could Support Military Deception
The army is also examining how AI could support military deception, drawing on US Army research into combining intelligence collection, counterintelligence, and deception to accelerate operational planning.
An army official said US Army research has explored using AI to link intelligence and deception operations, potentially speeding planning.
“One possible approach is to use AI to manage both false activities intended to be observed by the enemy and actual operations that must remain concealed until the end,” the official said.
