Waging information war


Description

The aim of information warfare is to substitute precise and discriminate credible information – whether by the methods of deception or information attack – to a target decision maker in order that they position themselves, by their own decision, in a position of strategic disadvantage.

Information warfare is not so much about perception management as orientation management. Information is both the target and the weapon: the weapon effect is predictable error.

Information warfare is about destroying information, reducing information flows, reducing the reliability of information content, and denying access to services.

Context

Information warfare is the offensive and defensive use of information and information systems to deny, exploit, corrupt, or destroy, an adversary's information, information-based processes, information systems, and computer-based networks while protecting one's own. Such actions are designed to achieve advantages over military or business adversaries.

Information warfare is defined as "actions taken to achieve relatively greater understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, and centers of gravity of an adversary's military, political, social, and economic infrastructure in order to deny, exploit, influence, corrupt, or destroy those adversary information-based activities thorough command and control warfare and information attack."

Information warfare is waged against industries, political spheres of influence, global economic forces, or even against entire countries. It is the use of technology against technology; it is about secrets and the theft of secrets; it is about turning information against its owners; it is about denying an enemy the ability to use both his technology and his information (Winn Schwartau).

Claim

  1. Conflicts will revolve less around the use of raw power than of "soft power" as applied through "information operations" and "perception management" – that is, media-oriented measures that aim to attract rather than coerce and that affect how secure a society, a military, or other actor feels about its knowledge of itself and its adversaries. Psychosocial disruption may become more important than physical destruction.

  2. Robert Steele argues that information warfare is "about applied intellect – it is about harnessing intellect and protecting intellect, and it is above all about providing the commander – including the civil commander in the role of political, economic, or cultural leader – with survivable, reliable, decision-support through war and operations other than war, on the home front as well as on the traditional front line – and to do so largely with 'out of control' civil resources."

  3. One cannot harness the distributed intelligence of a nation if the information content is diverted or destroyed.

  4. Historical patterns reveal that information warfare is undoubtedly the warfare of the future.

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