Deception in Cyberwarfare
The prevalence of cyberspace as a contemporary theatre of war raises important questions about the evolution of deception in warfare, including: What exactly constitutes deception in the present day? Is cyber deception comparable to deception in the physical world? What purpose does deception serve in cyberwarfare? How do humans and machines collaborate to enable cyber deception? And how will the relentless advancement of technology, particularly in machine learning, shape the role of deception in future cyberwarfare? This chapter explores these questions.
This preprint chapter is due to be published in late 2024, in T. Stevens & J. Devanny (Eds), Handbook on Cyberwarfare. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
Creativity and Morality in Deception
In this preprint book chapter, I explore various philosophical perspectives concerning the rights and wrongs of deception, the contribution of creativity to the formulation and execution of deception, and the practical impact of these factors in the real world.
Published as: Henderson, S. (2023). Creativity and morality in deception. In H. Kapoor & J. C. Kaufman (Eds.), Creativity and Morality. Academic Press. 101-124.
Innovative Deception Across Cultures
In this preprint book chapter, written for a book on Creativity, Innovation, and Change Across Cultures, Hansika Kapoor and I discuss how culture impacts deception. The chapter afforded an opportunity to discuss how common structures, strategies, and patterns of deception can be found across multiple cultures, while the content of such patterns (i.e., the constituent cues) often exhibit cultural specificity.
Published as: Kapoor, H., & Henderson, S. (2023). Innovative deception across cultures. In D. D. Preiss, M. Singer, & J. C. Kaufman (Eds.), Creativity, Innovation, and Change Across Cultures. Springer. 143-173.
Intelligence and Wisdom’s Role in Moral Versus Amoral Creativity
In this preprint book chapter, contributed to a book on Intelligence, Creativity, and Wisdom, Hansika Kapoor, James Kaufman, and I examine the contribution of creativity, intelligence, and wisdom to moral and amoral instances of deception.
Published as: Kapoor, H., Henderson, S., & Kaufman, J. C. (2023). Intelligence and Wisdom’s Role in Moral Versus Amoral Creativity. In R. J. Sternberg, J. C. Kaufman, & S. Karami (Eds.), Intelligence, Creativity, and Wisdom: Exploring their Connections and Distinctions. Springer. 177-197.
Design Thinking for Cyber Deception
A paper co-authored with Professor Debi Ashenden (University of Adelaide), Robert Black (Cranfield University), and Iain Reid (University of Portsmouth) that explores how deception in other disciplines can provoke the design of new forms of deceptive cyber defence.
Paper presented at the 54th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (2021).
Used Poppies
An ESP-like magic effect using regular playing cards, first published in Psycrecy (The Society of Mystery Entertainers), Vol 2, No. 3, in 2017.
Learning from Fake News Games
An unpublished paper that describes ten online free-to-play fake news games and considers each game’s strengths and weaknesses. The paper also addresses the theory behind how such games work, outlines a range of gaps in the issues addressed by the games, and identifies opportunities for enhancing future games.
Unpublished paper, June 2021.
How to Win the Deception/Counter-deception Arms Race?
An unpublished paper that examines the ever-evolving battle between deception and counter-deception using case studies from gambling, sport, the military, and nature. After considering why similar competitive cycles play out across these domains, the paper draws together emergent lessons for how deception can help gain and sustain competitive advantage in other settings.
Unpublished paper, April 2021.
It’s (Not) The Real Thing
An article published in Volume 3 of The Shift, an episodic series of magic books released by Ben Earl and Studio52Magic.
The article examines the relationship between magic and counter-deception and discusses how all deception inevitably creates anomalies that provide clues as to its presence. This means that, in principle, a target can always detect your deception. Understanding the principles of counter-deception can, in turn, enable the design of more potent forms of deception that stand less chance of being discovered.
First published in The Shift, Volume 3, 2020.
Anybody But a Magician?
An article published in Volume 2 of The Shift, an episodic series of magic books released by Ben Earl and Studio52Magic.
In this second article, I discuss features of magic that do not translate well into other domains of deceptive practice, dimensions of deceptive practice that magic fails to address, and components of magic that can be transferred readily to other domains.
First published in The Shift, Volume 2, 2020.
A Ruse By Any Other Name
An article published in Volume 1 of The Shift, an episodic series of magic books released by Ben Earl and Studio52Magic.
In this first article, I lay a foundation for magicians to understand better what deception is and how it functions within magic. By examining deception through the dual lenses of magic theory and magic practice, the essay provides a basis for magicians to reevaluate the conceptual basis of their work.
First published in The Shift, Volume 1, 2019.
Deception in Scot’s The Discoverie of Witchcraft
An unpublished paper that analyses Reginald Scot’s discussion and treatment of deception in his book from 1584, The Discoverie of Witchcraft.
Unpublished paper, June 2020.
The Trade of the Tricks
An examination of the potential contribution that the theory and practice of magic could make to national security.
Published in CREST Security Review, Spring 2018.
Making Sense of Magic
An analysis of the precise point in time when a spectator experiences a moment of profound magic, with thoughts about how the impact of this moment might be amplified.
Paper presented at the 13th International Conference on Naturalistic Decision Making, 2017, Bath, UK.
Applying the Principles of Magic and the Concepts of Macrocognition to Counter-Deception in Cyber Operations
A paper that considers how the principles of magic could be applied to designing enhanced cyber defence.
Paper presented at the International Conference on Naturalistic Decision Making, 2015, Washington, USA.
Propositional Diagrams for Intelligence Sensemaking
An examination of graphical mapping and reasoning approaches for supporting intelligence analysis. Has direct applications to counter-deception.
Published in the American Intelligence Journal, 2015.
Reasoning Difficulty in Analytical Activity
An examination of intelligence analysis and critical thinking, focusing on sources of reasoning difficulty. Such difficulties are compounded significantly by deception.
Paper published in Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 2011.