List of Abbreviations
Chapter 2. Literature Review
2.3 Information Warfare
2.3.3 Information Warfare Domains, Arenas and Constructs
2.3.3.3 Information Warfare Constructs
Six functional areas or pillars of IW are identified by Brazzoli (2007) and Théron (2008), which are also shown in Figure 2.5, and discussed further in Sections 2.3.3.4 to 2.3.3.9:
Command and control warfare (C2W), which protects the ability to effectively command and control (C2) forces whilst attempting to hinder an oppositions‟ command and control abilities;
Intelligence-based warfare (IBW), attempts to maximise the intelligence gathering, assessment and dissemination capabilities and degrade those of the opposition;
Information infrastructure warfare (IIW), where the aim is to protect the information infrastructure whilst attacking or exploiting the opposition's;
Electronic warfare (EW), prevents the opposition's use of the electromagnetic spectrum, whilst preserving its availability for friendly use;
Network warfare (NW), protects the information networks and attacks or exploits the oppositions information networks; and
Psychological operations (PSYOP), which are planned and co-ordinated activities to influence the emotions, reasoning and behaviour of an audience to further the objectives.
These can then be grouped into two domains; the application domain, comprising of command and control warfare, intelligence-based warfare and information infrastructure warfare, and the enabling
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domain comprising of electronic warfare, network warfare and PSYOPs (Brazzoli, 2007; Théron, 2008). The pillars in the application domain can be considered to be the targets which are affected;
and the enabling domain is where activities are performed to create effects in the application domain, and can be considered to be the weapons which attack or defend the pillars in the application domain, analogous to a sword and shield of old. It should be noted that the definitions given above (and Figure 2.5) are the perspective of the South African National Defence Force.
Figure 2.5: The Functional Areas of Information Warfare, adapted from van Niekerk and Maharaj (2009c)
Libicki (1995) proposes seven categories of IW, which are also discussed in Waltz (1998). The definitions of various terms may differ slightly from those above:
Command and control warfare: attacking and defending command and control capabilities, this relates to the chain of command;
Intelligence-based warfare: the collection, exploitation, protection, dissemination and analysis of information for use in warfare and competition;
Electronic warfare: "Communications combat in the realms of the physical transfer of information (radioelectronic) and the abstract formats of information (cryptographic)";
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Psychological operations: actions taken against the human mind;
Hacker warfare: combat over the global information infrastructure;
Economic information warfare: the attempts to control economic activity by controlling information and the relevant information systems;
Cyber-warfare: "Futuristic forms of terrorism, fully simulated combat, and reality control".
The Indian military also defines seven pillars (Chatterji, 2008; Ventre, 2009). Definitions are only provided where there is a difference from the South African description.
Command and control warfare;
Intelligence-based warfare;
Electronic Warfare;
Psychological warfare: the doctrine specifically mentions that psychological warfare is conducted through the mass media to influence public opinion; the use of information technologies to conduct subtle psychological actions is also mentioned (Ventre, 2009).
Cyber-warfare: the attacking of computer systems;
Network centric warfare: the networking of military components. The doctrine clearly distinguishes between network centric warfare and cyber-warfare, whereas other doctrines combine the two.
Economic information warfare: the use of information as to destabilise a nation‟s economy.
Ventre (2009) notes that this forms part of the military IW doctrine, which implies that operations in the economic sphere may be controlled by the military.
The Chinese publications on IW also mention seven pillars: electronic warfare, tactical deception, strategic deterrence, propaganda warfare, psychological warfare, computer warfare, and command and control warfare (Mulvenon, 1998). These theories also appear to have a greater emphasis on non-technological aspects of IW, particularly social implications or physical means to achieve the same results; this is due to the fact that the perceived enemy is considered to be technologically superior (Mulvenon, 1998; PuFeng, 1997; Rawnsley, 2005). This thinking also appears to view IW as a form of unconventional (or guerilla) warfare rather than a force multiplier (as some Western nations do) (Mulvenon, 1998); and advocates pre-emptive strikes to disrupt logistics and communications via computer warfare (Rawnsley, 2005) or physical means. This view by the Chinese theorists still appears to be valid, and was discussed by Ventre (2009).
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Arquilla and Ronfeldt (1997) identify four forms of IW: netwar, political warfare, economic warfare, and cyber-war as a form of command and control warfare. Political warfare is the use of political power, policy and diplomacy to achieve objectives (Waltz, 1998); netwar is the use of networked societies and populations to conduct IW through the media, politics, diplomacy, propaganda and psychological operations, political and cultural subversion, and the promotion of political dissention via computer networks (Waltz, 1998).
The United States Air Force provides an information operations construct, which illustrates the military components of IW as it was viewed in the United States, and the extension of IW to information operations. Figure 2.6 is an adaptation of this construct, which has been extended to the corporate environment where OPSEC denotes operations security and TRANSEC denotes transmissions security. Table 2.5 combines the three pillars of the enabling domain as discussed above with the construct shown in Figure 2.6. Table 2.6 relates the IW functional areas to the various domains.
Figure 2.6: The Information Operations Construct, Adapted from (USAF, 1998)
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Table 2.5: Information Warfare Tactics and Tools for the Enabling Domain, adapted from Smith & Knight (2005) and van Niekerk and Maharaj (2009c).
EW NW PSYOPs
Disrupt / Deny / Destroy
Radio Frequency Jamming Anti-Radiation Missile Low Observability Technology
Denial of Service Attack Physical Destruction Delete Information Firewalls
Disrupt and deny
communications and media broadcasts via EW, NW and physical destruction
Exploit
Signals Intelligence
Communications Intelligence Electronic Intelligence Identification Friend of Foe
Sniffers Scanners Backdoors
Intrusion Detection Systems
Release and distribute condemning information Counter Propaganda Perception Management
Corrupt
Chaff Flares
Low Observability Technology
Honey pots Honey nets Root-kits Malware
Provide information out of context
Counter Propaganda Propaganda
Perception Management
Table 2.6: Domains of IW, adapted from Waltz (1998) Conflict sphere Examples
National
Network warfare Economic warfare Political warfare
Command and control warfare
Corporate
Network-based espionage, sabotage, and source intelligence Insider espionage or sabotage
Precision physical attack on information systems Destruction of media
Notebook and computer theft
Exploitation and analysis of competitor products and former employees Capture and analysis of competitor trash
Arson and other non-precision attacks on information systems
Personal
e-commerce fraud
Identity theft, impersonation, spoofing, e-mail harassment, spamming Wiretapping and mobile phone intercepts
Bank card impersonation, band and credit card theft, "shoulder surfing" and PIN capture Telephone harassment
Theft of personal information from databases and other information stores Computer destruction
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From the discussion above, a new model was developed which incorporates the six functional areas of the South African construct as shown in Figure 2.5, and the various domains and spheres described above. The model also illustrates the relationship between the functional areas and domains, and is shown in Figure 2.7.
Figure 2.7: The Relationship between the IW Functional Areas and IW Spheres
The functional areas are important as they distinguish between the ultimate objectives of IW; there may also be subtle differences in how each functional area relates to the different spheres. For the purposes of this dissertation, the six functional areas proposed by the SANDF will be used;
economic IW (as proposed by some theorists) will be considered as the application of the various functional areas to the economic sphere. Sections 2.3.3.4 to 2.3.3.9 describe the six pillars of the South African construct in more detail.