Information Warfare

This article is part of the Propaganda Portal project of Spinwatch.

The concept of Information Warfare is subject to varied definitions, with some choosing to describe it as "the process of protecting one’s own sources of battlefield information and, at the same time, seeking to deny, degrade, corrupt, or destroy the enemy’s sources of battlefield information". According to this definition, Information Warfare comprises six parts: Operational Security, Electronic Warfare, Psychological Operations, Deception, physically attacks to disrupt enemy communications, and cyber attacks to disrupt enemy information processes. These processes are used to achieve "information superiority"; the ability to see the battlefield while your opponent cannot.

Information Warfare can be separated into two distinct categories: Offensive Information Warfare, which deals with the degradation of the enemy's battlefield information; and Defensive Information Warfare, which comprises efforts to protect one's own battlefield communication methods.

Whilst Information Warfare campaigns have occurred prior to modern warfare, they are now becoming a much more important part of conventional warfare. Vast leaps in information technologies in the late-20th and early-21st Centuries are making offensive Information Warfare a more potent instrument against enemy militaries.

Resources

• Wikipedia, Information Warfare: Overview of Information Warfare, particularly in the U.S.
• InfoWar, Welcome to InfoWar.com: Site dedicated to tacking Information Warfare issues
• Brian Nichiporuk (2002), "U.S. Military Opportunities: Information-Warfare Concepts of Operation" in: Zalmay Khalilzad, Jeremy Shapiro, eds., Strategic Appraisal: United States Air and Space Power in the 21st Century: Article on the future of U.S. Information Warfare
• Brian Lewis, Information Warfare: Report into U.S. Information Warfare initiatives