Abstract
Today, cognitive warfare has become a powerful tool in the hands of various governments and groups. However, the main challenge is that many threats in this field cannot be clearly identified. Therefore, identifying unknown threats in cognitive warfare is essential not only for protecting national security, but also for countering soft threats. The main purpose of this article is to examine unknown threats in cognitive warfare and analyze how they affect national security. Since threats in this field are unpredictable, another goal of this research is to identify the characteristics of these threats in the technical, cyber, psychological, and social fields. In addition, the article uses a descriptive and analytical approach to examine strategies for dealing with these threats and predict methods for identifying them. The results of this study show that cognitive warfare has increasingly emerged as a new and complex threat to national security. Due to characteristics such as the speed of development, technical complexity, and profound psychological and social effects, these threats require new methods and specific strategies to identify and counter. Unknown threats emerge in the form of advanced and new technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, cyberspace, psychological threats, cyber attacks and information manipulation, and cultural and social threats, all of which affect national identity and security. Identifying and confronting unknown threats in cognitive warfare requires a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach that includes cross-sectoral cooperation, the use of new technologies, and strengthening human and organizational capacities of the national organization.