BUSINESS, TEMPO.CO - The Cyfluence Research Center (CRC) has introduced the Urban Cyfluence Framework, a new analytical framework designed to help cities address increasingly complex threats arising from the convergence of cyberattacks, disinformation, and declining public trust.
Launched in April 2026, the framework aims to provide governments and policymakers with a new approach to understanding how interactions between physical infrastructure, digital systems, and public trust shape a city's resilience in the digital era.
According to CRC, the initiative reflects the growing realization that cities are increasingly on the front lines of geopolitical and cyber threats.
While the organization has long focused on information disorder and its intersection with cyberattacks at the global level, CRC said cities and municipalities are increasingly bearing the consequences of these attacks.
Recent influence operations have amplified religious, ethnic, and political tensions, undermined social cohesion, and been accompanied by cyberattacks intended to intimidate or disrupt local communities.
CRC also noted that as geopolitical rivalry intensifies and the international order becomes more fragmented, cities have become strategic targets for both domestic and foreign threat actors.
"If an adversary seeks to damage Indonesia, for instance, it is highly likely to target Jakarta, given the city's economic and political importance. Ultimately, cities are just a melting pot; everything happens in the city," the organization said.
Attacks Increasingly Cross Traditional Boundaries
CRC Director Florian Frank said today's threats have become more sophisticated, blurring the boundaries that have traditionally separated cyberattacks, influence operations, and public trust.
"Cyfluence departs from the understanding that contemporary threats no longer operate separately between cyber attacks, influence operations, and disruptions to public trust," Frank said.
"When digital systems, information flows, and public perception are interconnected, security cannot merely be understood as technological protection, but also as an institution's ability to understand and respond to the cognitive impacts of such disruptions."
"Just as threat actors have blurred the lines between these domains, defenders need new approaches to confront this new generation of attacks."
To address these challenges, CRC said the Urban Cyfluence Framework integrates three core domains: physical, digital, and cognitive, to assess the interconnected impacts of cyber disruption, disinformation, and public trust crises.
Blueprint Series Begins with Asia
Nur Mawaddah, Director of the Urban Cyfluence Lab at CRC, said the framework was developed to help cities better understand how physical, digital, and cognitive risks interact.
"Cities today not only face risks to physical infrastructure and digital systems but also to the space of public perception and trust. The Urban Cyfluence Framework was developed to help understand how these three layers influence one another and shape urban resilience in the digital era," Mawaddah said.
Alongside the framework's launch, CRC also announced the Urban Cyfluence Blueprint, a regional publication series intended to support policymakers in strengthening digital resilience and information governance.
The publication will be released in phases, beginning with Volume 1, which focuses on Asia, followed by Volume 2 covering Oceania.
CRC said the blueprint was developed with contributions from national and international institutions, academics, and practitioners to foster broader discussions on digital resilience and information governance at the city level.
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