Information Transport

Collecting a large amount of comprehensive information is certainly good practice, but collection is of little value if the information sits in a storage facility, unused. As such, the ability to transport information into the hands of those who need it, in a timely manner, is another essential aspect of information warfare. The tools used in this domain are not exactly weapons, but rather civilian technologies put to use in military situations. The most important of these tools is communication infrastructure, composed of networks of computers, routers, telephone lines, fiber optic cable, telephones, televisions, radios, and other data transport technologies and protocols. Without these technologies, the ability to transport information in the real-time fashion required by today's standards would be impossible.

Although somewhat out of the scope of this discussion, it is interesting to note at this point the introduction of the term "network" to the military vocabulary. For hundreds of years, militaries have relied on hierarchies, not networks, to disseminate information. Civilian advances in communication technology have followed a networked paradigm, though, which has the potential to seriously alter the way command and control are thought of in military circles. "Moving to networked structures may require some decentralization of command and control. But decentralization is only part of the picture. The new technology may also provide greater "topsight", a central understanding of the big picture that enhances the management of complexity". From this we can see that even a seemingly basic change in technology for transporting information has the potential to make information age warfare a very different thing that its industrial age counterpart.

Information Protection

One of the most broadly agreed upon aspects of information warfare is the need to minimize the amount of information to which your opponent has access. A large part of this is protecting the information you have from capture by the other side. The weapons used to protect the security of our information fall into two classes. First are those technologies that physically protect our vital data storage facilities, computers, and transport mechanisms, including bomb and bullet proof casings and intrusion prevention mechanisms such as locks and fingerprint scans. Second, and perhaps more important, are technologies that prevent bits from being seen and intercepted by the enemy. This certainly includes basic computer security technologies such as passwords, as well as more sophisticated technologies like encryption. According to Martin C. Libicki, "By scrambling its own messages and unscrambling those of the other side, each side performs the quintessential act of information warfare, protecting its own view of reality while degrading that of the other side."

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 851