ANKARA

Amid the intensified military tensions following the US and Israel's joint "preemptive" military strikes on Iran and Tehran's retaliation to hit their military targets in the Middle East, experts say an invisible digital war is raging alongside the missile and air war.

The explosive conflict rapidly expanded beyond traditional battlefields, as a new frontier opened with malicious code and weaponized artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms.

Advanced persistent threat groups and AI-powered combat systems are actively impacting a sprawling attack surface stretching from Iran’s critical energy grids to mobile phones operating in the country.

Erdem Eris, CEO of cybersecurity consultancy firm Cyber Arts, told Anadolu that AI has become the ultimate decision-support engine for modern military destruction.

Eris said warfare in today’s age is no longer limited to physical devastation, but it has evolved into a ruthless battle for strategic superiority, led by data and algorithmic supremacy.

He noted that state-sponsored hackers infiltrate national infrastructure, while psychological cyber operations are launched simultaneously to manipulate digital realities and instill fear in the general public by hijacking state-run news agencies to shatter public perception.

“The US Central Command (CENTCOM) is widely known to use AI-supported analysis systems in operations against Iran—AI models play a key role in intelligence analysis, target assessment, and data-intensive decision-making processes,” he said. “Meanwhile, Israeli cyber forces took over mobile apps used by millions in Iran to relay propaganda straight to the devices people carry in their pockets.”

“The simultaneous hacking of state news agencies and media websites also showed that these efforts are aimed directly at public perception—war waged on the invisible front, therefore, makes up a wide range of attack surfaces, ranging from power plants to media portals and from military networks to mobile apps,” he added.

Cyberspace now primary frontier in modern warfare

Eris stated that the escalating digital offensives should constitute dire warnings for global security, as the war is showing that AI is the absolute driving force behind wartime decision-making.

The heavy reliance on AI also creates significant vulnerabilities in terms of technological dependence and supply chain risks, which could cripple any country's defense infrastructure.

Eris observed that the invisible front can be classified as a three-tiered struggle for digital dominance.

He said: “First, state-sponsored advanced threat actors (APTs) infiltrate key infrastructure, gain persistent access, and gather intelligence—AI analysis systems are now a part of operational planning in this phase.

“Second is perception-related operations, such as hijacking apps downloaded by millions, spreading propaganda through push notifications, and modifying homepages of media websites in a bid to undermine the trust and the perception of authority figures in the country.

“Third is the cybercrime ecosystem, such as phishing attacks, propagating ransomware, and starting fake donation campaigns, turning the crisis environment into an opportunity,” he added.

In the face of ever-developing strategies employed in cyber warfare, Eris asserted that impenetrable cyber resilience is now a matter of absolute national survival.

He noted that even a simple political dispute with a major tech firm could cripple military operations on the physical battlefield, given how indispensable AI has become in warfare, while public perception is rising to be the primary target, hacking mobile apps, and media manipulation will only grow to be more aggressive and widespread.

Eris warned that simply being connected to the global digital ecosystem could render any country a potential casualty despite not being physically involved in the crossfire.

He called on countries such as Türkiye to implement security-by-design protocols in energy, finance, and telecommunications, stressing that the cyber arena is no longer a supplementary but rather the primary frontier in modern warfare, with tech independence and digital governance determining who wins and loses.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim in Istanbul