6.2 The nature of information warfare

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In Information Warfare: How to Survive Cyber Attacks , I conclude that a wide range of information warfare strategies exists and that countries need to be prepared to defend against them. The ten types of information warfare and their potential impacts on private companies are listed in Table 6.1. However, each of the ten categories of information warfare has a price tag, a required organizational structure, and a timeline for preparation and implementation.

Given these cost structures, the types of information warfare that will most likely be waged against large industrial computer-dependent countries are sustained terrorist information warfare, random terrorist information warfare, sustained rogue information warfare, random rogue information warfare, and amateur rogue information warfare.

Table 6.1: Information Warfare Strategies

Type of Information Warfare

Potential Direct Impact on Private Companies in Full-Scale Information Wars

Potential Indirect Impact on Private Companies in Less Than Full-Scale Wars

Offensive ruinous information warfare

Destructive attacks on corporate systems by aggressors

Residual viruses or other destructive code launched during attacks or loss of communications systems

Offensive containment information warfare

Destructive attacks on corporate systems by aggressors

Residual viruses or other destructive code launched during attacks or loss of communications systems

Sustained terrorist information warfare

Repeated or sustained destructive targeted attacks on corporate systems by terrorist groups

Hits by viruses and other destructive code launched to attack general populations or loss of communications systems

Random terrorist information warfare

Random destructive targeted attacks on corporate systems by terrorist groups

Hits by viruses and other destructive code launched to attack general populations or loss of communications systems

Defensive preventive information warfare

Accidental disruption of communications during the initiation of preventive measures

Accidental disruption of communications during the initiation of preventive measures

Defensive ruinous information warfare

Destructive attacks on corporate systems by attacked countries to destroy an aggressor

Hits by viruses and other destructive code launched during defensive responses or loss of communications systems

Defensive responsive containment information warfare

Destructive attacks on corporate systems from countries attempting to contain an aggressor

Hits by viruses and other destructive code launched during defensive responses or loss of communications systems

Sustained rogue information warfare

Repeated or sustained targeted attacks on corporate systems by criminal groups

Hits by viruses and other destructive code launched to attack general populations or loss of communications systems

Random rogue information warfare

Random targeted attacks on corporate systems by criminal groups

Hits by viruses and other destructive code launched to attack general populations or loss of communications systems

Amateur rogue information warfare

Random targeted attacks on corporate systems by amateur groups

Hits by viruses and other destructive code launched to attack general populations or loss of communications systems

Source: Information Warfare: How to Survive Cyber Attacks, McGraw-Hill, 2001.

To finance, organize, and mount offensive ruinous information warfare and offensive containment information warfare is so expensive that the publicly political enemies of the large industrial countries cannot afford to use such strategies. But that does not mean that the lesser tactics would not be extremely damaging to infrastructures and economies.

The strategies that would be most effective against smaller, somewhat computer-dependent countries are offensive ruinous information warfare and offensive containment information warfare. In the case of aggressor countries or groups, defensive responsive containment information warfare is the most likely tactic. The strategies that will be the most effective against countries that have done little in terms of developing a computer dependency are those of offensive containment information warfare.

The smaller, less developed countries in no way can afford to mount and sustain defensive ruinous information warfare or defensive responsive containment information warfare strategies. At best, they could mount random terrorist information warfare or random rogue information warfare strategies and most likely would depend on amateur rogue information warfare carried out by a few patriots or geographically dispersed allies.

The private sector in industrial computer-dependent countries does need to be concerned about large-scale offensive ruinous information warfare in widespread conflicts that get out of hand. However, the most likely immediate threats to corporate operations outside of organized conflicts are random terrorist information warfare, sustained rogue information warfare, random rogue information warfare, and amateur rogue information warfare.

The most vulnerable corporations are those that are heavily involved in and derive the majority of their revenues from electronic commerce, or what we so lovingly call dot-coms. It will cost corporations much more to defend themselves against these information warfare strategies than it will cost terrorist or rogues to mount such attacks.

In addition, the only organizations in the industrialized countries that can afford to counter effectively or ultimately eliminate the attackers, especially if they are outside the country of the corporation that is being attacked, are maintained and controlled by the military. Because civilian law enforcement is in a weak position to deal with information warfare attacks on private corporations, those companies without strong ties to the military will become easy targets with little recourse.



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Implementing Homeland Security for Enterprise IT
Implementing Homeland Security for Enterprise IT
ISBN: 1555583121
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 248

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