CATv.2.0 - Revision history

Info: /* The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) */

2026-08-04T15:27:13Z

The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT)

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:27, 4 August 2026
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	We define cognitive hacking as the practice of exploiting the psychophysical, neuroergonomic, and psychosocial limitations of these systems to degrade, deny, or deceive decision-making. Cognitive hacking targets the structural processing capacity and trust architecture of the operator (Canham et al., 2022), and is subtended by domains like social engineering, which targets the semantic content of belief (e.g., convincing a user that a lie is true). Where social engineering is the payload; cognitive hacking is the delivery mechanism exploiting how the system thinks, not just what it thinks.		We define cognitive hacking as the practice of exploiting the psychophysical, neuroergonomic, and psychosocial limitations of these systems to degrade, deny, or deceive decision-making. Cognitive hacking targets the structural processing capacity and trust architecture of the operator (Canham et al., 2022), and is subtended by domains like social engineering, which targets the semantic content of belief (e.g., convincing a user that a lie is true). Where social engineering is the payload; cognitive hacking is the delivery mechanism exploiting how the system thinks, not just what it thinks.

	== The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) ==		== The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) v2.0 ==

	The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) maps the cognitive attack surface, identifying where structural processing vulnerabilities can and do lie across the sociotechnical landscape (Canham et al., 2022). The CAT is the frame, filled with puzzle pieces such as social engineering, itself a cognitive attack targeting specific semantic content. Much as the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI, Zimmerman, 1980) model separates physical cabling from application logic, the CAT separates the substrate of the mind from the rules that govern it. The CAT layers are:		The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) maps the cognitive attack surface, identifying where structural processing vulnerabilities can and do lie across the sociotechnical landscape (Canham et al., 2022). The CAT is the frame, filled with puzzle pieces such as social engineering, itself a cognitive attack targeting specific semantic content. Much as the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI, Zimmerman, 1980) model separates physical cabling from application logic, the CAT separates the substrate of the mind from the rules that govern it. The CAT layers are:

Info at 15:26, 4 August 2026

2026-08-04T15:26:31Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:26, 4 August 2026
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	Generally, attackers targeting CAT Layer IV policy seek to turn a constraint into an advantage relative to their own goal. Schneier (2023) categorizes exploiting gaps between the letter and spirit of the law as "hacking" in its purest form. In AI, this manifests as adversarial prompting (jailbreaking), where inputs remain syntactically compliant with safety policies while creating a context that forces the model to prioritize a conflicting rule (e.g., "helpfulness" over "safety"). When a metric becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure (Campbell’s Law). In AI, this is "reward hacking," where an agent maximizes points in a way that violates the designer's goals. Calo (2014) describes this as "digital market manipulation," exploiting cognitive biases within the strict bounds of the law. Indeed successful adversarial actions are not only lawful, but use the law ‘as written’ as a weapon to violate the spirit in which the law was written.		Generally, attackers targeting CAT Layer IV policy seek to turn a constraint into an advantage relative to their own goal. Schneier (2023) categorizes exploiting gaps between the letter and spirit of the law as "hacking" in its purest form. In AI, this manifests as adversarial prompting (jailbreaking), where inputs remain syntactically compliant with safety policies while creating a context that forces the model to prioritize a conflicting rule (e.g., "helpfulness" over "safety"). When a metric becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure (Campbell’s Law). In AI, this is "reward hacking," where an agent maximizes points in a way that violates the designer's goals. Calo (2014) describes this as "digital market manipulation," exploiting cognitive biases within the strict bounds of the law. Indeed successful adversarial actions are not only lawful, but use the law ‘as written’ as a weapon to violate the spirit in which the law was written.

			== Attack/Vulnerability Examples ==

			{\| class="wikitable"
			! Layer !! Human !! Artificial (AI) !! Organizational
			\|-
			\| Layer I (Structure)
			\| Strobe-tuned flashing GIFs; "Mosquito" sound-emitting devices
			\| Undervolting to induce bit-flips; clock glitching to force a processor to skip instructions
			\| Switching signs for internal shipping deposits; propping open an exit
			\|-
			\| Layer II (Cognitive)
			\| Prevalence paradox; manipulation of visual salience
			\| Strategic training-data poisoning; context window position exploitation
			\| Ambiguous Self-Induced Disinformation (ASID) attacks
			\|-
			\| Layer III (Network)
			\| Authority exploitation (CEO impersonation fraud); reciprocity exploitation
			\| AI "role-play" attacks; API endpoint trust exploitation
			\| Supply-chain exploitation; groupthink as organizational conformity
			\|-
			\| Layer IV (Policy)
			\| SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation); patent trolling
			\| Adversarial prompting; reward hacking (Campbell's Law)
			\| Escalation attack; overly restrictive shadow IT policies
			\|}

	== Refence Works ==		== Refence Works ==

Info: /* The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) v2.0 [DRAFT] */

2026-06-17T04:50:42Z

The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) v2.0 [DRAFT]

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Info: /* The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) v2.0 [DRAFT] */

2026-06-17T03:04:57Z

The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) v2.0 [DRAFT]

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:04, 17 June 2026
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	'''<br>		'''<br>
	Visit the [https://www.cognitivesecurity.institute/ '''Cognitive Security Institute'''] to learn more about cognitive security and related topics!<br><br>		Visit the [https://www.cognitivesecurity.institute/ '''Cognitive Security Institute'''] to learn more about cognitive security and related topics!<br><br>
	The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) is an evolving project designed to provide a common language and framework for conceiving and communicating about cognitive attack concepts, vulnerabilities, exploits, and TTPs. This is page represents a work in progress. <br><br>		The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) is an evolving project designed to provide a common language and framework for conceiving and communicating about cognitive attack concepts, vulnerabilities, exploits, and TTPs. This is page represents a work in progress. You may find the CAT 1.0 [[Main_Page\|'''here''']]. <br><br>

Info: /* The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) v2.0 [DRAFT VERSION] */

2026-06-17T03:02:51Z

The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) v2.0 [DRAFT VERSION]

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:02, 17 June 2026
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	= '''The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) v2.0 [DRAFT ~~VERSION~~]''' =		= '''The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) v2.0 [DRAFT]''' =
	'''<br>		'''<br>
	Visit the [https://www.cognitivesecurity.institute/ '''Cognitive Security Institute'''] to learn more about cognitive security and related topics!<br><br>		Visit the [https://www.cognitivesecurity.institute/ '''Cognitive Security Institute'''] to learn more about cognitive security and related topics!<br><br>
	The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) is an evolving project designed to provide a common language and framework for conceiving and communicating about cognitive attack concepts, vulnerabilities, exploits, and TTPs. This is page represents a work in progress. <br><br>		The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) is an evolving project designed to provide a common language and framework for conceiving and communicating about cognitive attack concepts, vulnerabilities, exploits, and TTPs. This is page represents a work in progress. <br><br>

Info: Created page with "= '''The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) v2.0 [DRAFT VERSION]''' = '''
Visit the [https://www.cognitivesecurity.institute/ '''Cognitive Security Institute'''] to learn more about cognitive security and related topics!

The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) is an evolving project designed to provide a common language and framework for conceiving and communicating about cognitive attack concepts, vulnerabilities, exploits, and TTPs. This is page represents a work..."

2026-06-16T03:48:20Z

Created page with "= '''The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) v2.0 [DRAFT VERSION]''' = ''' Visit the [https://www.cognitivesecurity.institute/ '''Cognitive Security Institute'''] to learn more about cognitive security and related topics! The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) is an evolving project designed to provide a common language and framework for conceiving and communicating about cognitive attack concepts, vulnerabilities, exploits, and TTPs. This is page represents a work..."

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= '''The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) v2.0 [DRAFT VERSION]''' =
''' 
Visit the [https://www.cognitivesecurity.institute/ '''Cognitive Security Institute'''] to learn more about cognitive security and related topics! 
The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) is an evolving project designed to provide a common language and framework for conceiving and communicating about cognitive attack concepts, vulnerabilities, exploits, and TTPs. This is page represents a work in progress.