„Need to Know“ is an international research network established in 2011 that explores the structures and operations of intelligence and security services within a historical framework, with particular emphasis on the 20th and 21st centuries. As one of the largest internationally active scholarly networks in this field, it brings together researchers to exchange knowledge and foster academic dialogue. A central aim of the network is to encourage new interpretations and research initiatives, especially in light of archival openings in both Eastern and Western contexts. Each year, the network organizes a major conference hosted by a partner institution in Europe, providing a platform for interdisciplinary discussion and the presentation of current research in intelligence history.

Many view the Cold War as the peak of intelligence battles and disinformation campaigns. Nevertheless, in recent years, suspicions of Russian influence on the politics of other nations has sparked a resurgence in discussions on deception, influence operations, disinformation, and societal resilience. Sometimes, these operations are intended ‚only‘ to mislead enemy special services; sometimes, they target governments and politicians, and those aimed at entire societies, states, and nations, or even global public opinion, are considered the most dangerous. The names for this phenomenon are plentiful: Denial and deception (D&D), Hybrid Warfare, Subversion, Active Measures, Political Ideological Diversion, and Psychological Warfare. The exact definitions are often blurred and overlapping but have in common the mingling of foreign intelligence services in political and (dis)information struggles.

To intelligence scholars, security authorities, and societies, the correlation between intelligence services and disinformation constitutes a significant challenge. The complicated question is when foreign intelligence services disseminate malign information and when other actors are involved. The consequences of this dilemma are not just academic, as they determine whether disinformation needs to be handled secretly by counterintelligence organisations or whether it is openly addressed by other
societal institutions or even by individual citizens. During the Cold War, both the East and the West favoured the first variant, albeit on dierent scales. In the current situation, the options still seem open.

Dieter Bacher, Researcher at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on Consequences of War and the University of Graz, is a member of the organizing committee.