Is Britain Ready for Cognitive Warfare? Why Preparedness Needs the Whole of Society
Britain’s preparedness for cognitive warfare depends on how effectively government, businesses, technology companies and communities work together. Protecting our ability to assess information and make sound decisions requires public understanding, clear responsibilities and relationships that function under pressure.
Following the Resilience Conference London 2026, Lady Olga Maitland, founder of The Resilience Imperative, shares her conference readout.
The accompanying question for all of us is practical: how ready are we—and what can we do now to improve that readiness?
What is cognitive warfare?
Cognitive warfare seeks to influence how people understand events, make decisions and behave. NATO’s Allied Command Transformation describes a challenge involving manipulation of perceptions and the use of information and technology to affect thinking and action. Its work emphasises awareness, cooperation and societal resilience.
This makes preparedness relevant far beyond specialist security organisations. It concerns how leaders assess uncertain information, how organisations communicate with their staff and how communities maintain confidence during disruption.
A useful starting point is to ask whether people have the information, skills and trusted contacts they need to make informed decisions under pressure.
Why can’t government prepare society alone?
Government has essential responsibilities for national security and emergency preparedness. Businesses and communities also have capabilities, relationships and responsibilities that must form part of a functioning response.
An employer understands its operations and workforce. A technology company understands the systems it develops. Community organisations understand local circumstances and can reach people who may otherwise be overlooked.
The challenge is to connect those strengths.
For The Resilience Imperative, shared responsibility should mean clarity about who can act, what support they need and how their contribution fits into the wider response.
What can businesses and technology companies do?
Businesses can begin by examining how disruption would affect their people, operations and communications.
Who would make urgent decisions? How would staff receive reliable updates? Which suppliers or systems are essential? Have alternative arrangements been tested?
Technology companies can contribute by working closely with the people who understand operational needs. A promising tool needs a clear purpose, a responsible owner and a realistic route into use.
The wider conference agenda brought these issues into focus through themes including defence innovation, investment, industrial capacity, supply chains and lessons from Ukraine. Those themes raise a broader preparedness question: how do we turn capability into something people can use when it matters?
What role do communities play?
Communities should be active partners in preparedness.
Local organisations can help people identify reliable information, understand where to seek support and stay connected during disruption. They can also help planners understand needs that may be missed by a centrally designed approach.
Practical preparation might include agreeing communication routes, identifying people who could need additional assistance and strengthening relationships between local employers, voluntary groups and public services.
These are foundations that can be built before an emergency.
How do we turn separate efforts into a coordinated response?
A useful next step is to make cooperation specific:
Identify the gaps. Establish which risks or responsibilities are falling between organisations.
Name the owners. Make clear who leads, who supports and who makes decisions.
Test the connections. Exercise how information and requests for help move between organisations.
Act on the findings. Assign improvements and check that they happen.
These are practical proposals for strengthening preparedness. Their value lies in whether they improve the ability to respond.
What should happen next?
The Resilience Imperative’s position is that preparedness should be a continuing responsibility across society.
For any organisation, a useful question to ask today is: if disruption began tomorrow, would we know who to contact, what to communicate and what action to take first?
Comments