The article is devoted to some theoretical aspects and the basic components of information policy.The author analyzes an informational policy as the measures to control State’s informational environment, cyber space, and mass consciousness and protect them from influence and intervention. The article presents some internal and external threats, which may be organized by geopolitical competitors or internal opposition to destabilize social order. Informational security measures can be divided into internal (within the State) and external (international) levels. As a rule, in developed countries there are special agencies, which deal with information security and decide what kind of informational streams should be available for public. The article analyzes such a thing as an information war.
Informational policy is the measures to control State’s informational environment, cyber space, and mass consciousness and protect them from influence and intervention. It is also means to respond all internal and external threats, which are organized by geopolitical competitors or internal opposition to destabilize social order. Informational security measures can be divided into internal (within the State) and external (international) levels. As a rule, in developed countries there are special agencies, which deal with information security and decide what kind of informational streams should be available for public. In their capacities, they also have an intelligence options to indicate second party intervention. Therefore, Informational warfare
There is a few number of explorations connected with informational warfare, depending of the field of focus: public relations, military dimension and cyber space. However, each field is directly connected with other. Information Warfare is actions taken to achieve information superiority by affecting adversary information, information-based processes, information systems and computer-based network while defending one’s information, information-based processes, information systems and computer-based networks [1].
Information Warfare in its broadest sense is a struggle over the information and communications process, a struggle that began with the advent of human communication and conflict. Over the past few decades, the rapid rise in information and communication technologies and their increasing prevalence in our society has revolutionized the communications process and with it the significance and implications of information warfare. Information warfare is the application of destructive force on a large scale against information assets and systems, against the computers and networks that support the four critical infrastructures (the power grid, communications, financial, and transportation). However, protecting against computer intrusion even on a smaller scale is in the national security interests of the country and is important in the current discussion about information warfare.[2] So, as we can consider, informational warfare is having more and more complicated structure of application new technologies and related measures. Notwithstanding its structure the goals are identical – dominance and control. To give more concrete examples of informational warfare, there is a sense to analyze its structure with historical background and give specific examples. Some experts involving in the process of investigation war’s dynamics, divide the classical war from informational. For instance, M Castells in his theory of three waves of war illustrates the developing steps of its dynamics:
The first phase of warfare in the Tofflerian model was “man and tools”war. Machine and information exist, but man enlarged by tools dominates. In order to have an influence on the other systems, nations or states, one has to move his units on surface and first attack on the military of the other side. The warfare was serial, beginning with battles on the border, then inland and finally on decisive points. It took time and battles were fought on the surface, on one, small piece of land or sea. And in time and on will. The second phase of warfare was or is man and machinewar. It included man and tools plus machine and systems. Machine such as aircraft and tanks. Systems like railroads. Man, tools and information exist, but man enlarged by machine dominates. Fighting was happening on a larger area. Battles of mass armies were unified to operations. The military gravity moved from tactics to operations. The key word in this phase is mass. Mass army, mass education, mass production, mass media, mass information, mass death, mass destruction.
The second phase’s end created air force and electronic mass media, radio, new means to influence. They largely bypassed traditional military might and lower dimensions of warfare, the surface, the lines and the points. One consequence was the decreased importance of the geographical borders of nations and the birth of new borders.
The air force and use of E.M. spectrum (radio, radar) also facilitated to strike many points at once, the whole depth of the enemy territory. This was possible with much decreased complexity and with much increased speed in respect to the surface. It also made it possible for the first time to strike whatever points in the enemy territory within you air force’s range and other capabilities. The air force made one free of the limitation of the surface. The parallelism, complexity and speed of warfare began to move on. New dimensions, air (height) and E.M. spectrum were included in the warfare.
The use of air created: (1) the troops of use of the air (e.g. transport planes, surveillance planes, bombers, fighter bombers, air to surface missiles (ASM), cruise missiles, (2) the troops of attack against the air (e.g. interceptor, air superiority fighters, air to air missiles (AAM)) (Air Countermeasure, ACM) (3) the troops of defence against the air attack (e.g. anti-air artillery, surface to air missiles, (SAM), air defence fighters, escort fighters) (=Air Counter Counter Measures, ACCM) Because Air Counter Counter Measures is just measures, which have countermeasures this process creates ever increased deep action counteraction chains. This means increased complexity and new means of victory and defeat.
Third wave: The network society Advanced nations live more and more in a network society. A new mode of connected, more and more virtual, dynamic, ever changing society with many connections inside and outside the society or state. In a broader historical perspective, the network society presents a qualitative change in the human experience. If we refer to an old sociological tradition according to which social action at the most fundamental level can be understood as the changing pattern of relationship between Nature and Culture. The first model was for millennia by the domination of the Nature over Culture. The second model beginning at the origin of Modern Age was domination of Nature by Culture. We are just entering a new sage in which Culture refers to Culture, having superseded Nature to the point that Nature is artificially revived (“preserved”) as a cultural form. ... This is why information is the key ingredient of our social organization and why flows of messages and images between networks constitute the basic thread of our social structure [3].
A new world is taking shape in this end of millennium. It originated in the historical coincidence, around late 1960's and mid1970's, of three independent processes; the information technology revolution; the economic crises of both capitalism and statism, and their subsequent restructuring; and the blooming of cultural social movements such as libertarianism, human rights, feminism, and environmentalism [4].
Power... is no longer concentrated in institutions (the state), organizations (capitalist firms), or symbolic controllers (corporate media, churches). It is diffused in global network of wealth, power, information, and images, which circulate and transmute in a system of variable geometry and dematerialized geography. Yet, it does not disappear. Power still rules society; it still shapes, and dominates, us. Not only because apparatuses of different kinds can still discipline bodies and silence minds. This form of power is, at the same time, eternal, and fading away. It is eternal because humans are, and will be, predators. But, in its current form of existence, it is fading away; the exercise of this kind of power is increasingly ineffective for the interest that it is supposed to serve. States can shoot, but because of profiles of their enemies, and the whereabouts of their challengers, are increasingly unclear, they tend to shoot randomly, with the probability that they may shoot themselves in the process.[5]
Alongside the public and private sector a “third global sector”, a social sector is well under away. The key is for governmental and nongovernmental actors to learn to cooperate better. This will strengthen the state [6]. This shows that not only government is interested in its stable informational environment, but also companies and enterprises that influence to social relations. However, some companies are doing informational warfare against their competitors. A Vahtera dives some interesting explorations, how this could be done:
In USA, big corporations have started a well-planed and broad-based counter-attack against environmental movements. In their counterattack, the corporations have used first the cover organizations that they have created and which represent themselves as environmental organizations and secondly conservative research organizations. On the other hand, the 7 environmental movement is also networking. A civil organization that resists poisonous waste has grown to a loose network of 8000 local groups, which has won hundreds of campaigns against chemical industry. A new network of activists, Communities Concerned about Corporation, is watching the actions of corporations.[7]
The main source of meaning in live in the West is based on individual fulfillment. The dynamic that started the evolution of the individual started with the fall of Rome. War has been in the resource based warfare about killing people, but those people were previously just numbers. We felt that it was all right for those numbers to be sacrificed to fix some scarcity.[8]Other words, contemporary wars more concentrated on particular objects and subjects rather than to command and conquer the whole Nation, because it is less energy consuming deal. It is a new stage of warfare, where resources and time play the key role and winners will always try to achieve their goal without massive resource investments.
The third phase of warfare is or will be “man and information”war. Automation, networking and informationalization are new factors done by computers, their programs and other information technology. They are all a central part of the information warfare. Man, tools and machine exist, but man enlarged by intelligent, information and networked based systems dominates. The key word in this phase will be precision and networks. Precision army, precision education, precision media, precision information, precision death, precision destruction...
Social networks, communication networks, computer networks, networks of firms, networks of experts... Informationalization means to have machine readable information as a central part of all systems of warfare and to use that information for control, learning and for change. Thus, it demands computers in all systems. And to have programs, which integrate, network and automate all these systems. To understand the system you are examining, you need the information that is essential for the processes of the system, for the effectiveness of that system. To find that information, you need modeling.[9]Thus, new technologies will require new approaches.
In order to have informationalization in organization demands changes in information, authority and technology. Because of the lack of a wide strategy, no organization has ever yet been in a situation to totally use its possibilities of informationalization. A will to learn in work is essential.[10] These new means include more efficient target acquisition and air forces, long range missiles, electronic mass media through satelliteTV and Internet, space forces, directed energy weapons and of course the cyberspace. The traditional warfare will become parallel[11] and parallel lines will be continued. It has been estimated, that operative systems in the year 2000 are capable of transmitting 8 information from 3500 4000 targets to 1200 attack planes in one minute.[10] So new information-inspired wars will be more productive even now, all the more so in future. Classical or conventional warfare will be soon replaced by IW and new war strategies.
The key point of the information age warfare is to avoid conventional warfare, to avoid the breaking of things and the killing of people, by new means of influence, which have usability between conventional warfare and conventional peace. To influence the behavior of the system, not to break it.[11]
Capacities ofInformational warfare are identified by its essence. Winner is someone who can maximally adopt all possible resources, make network of alliances (or organize provoke campaign against opponent), create internalsocial conflict condition in opponent’s territory and have crisp scenario of conflict developing process as well as post conflict period.
- Field Manual No 100-6 (FM-100-6) Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington DC, 24
- “Information Warfare” Brian Lewis wap source: http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/snyder/infowarfare.htm
- M Castells: ”The Information Age: Economy, Society, And Culture” Volume I ”The Rise of The Network Society” Blackwell Publishers Inc. USA 1999 P.
- M Castells:”The Information Age; Economy, Society and Culture” Volume III “End Of Millennium” P.356 360 Blackwell Publishers Inc. USA
- Manuel Castells:”The Information Age: Economy, Society, And Culture” Volume II”The Power of Indentity” Blackwell Publishers Inc. USA 1999 359.
- John Arquilla & David Ronfield:”The Advent of Netwar” RAND 1996 P. 33-34.
- Vahtera:”Savuverhon suojassa; Peitejärjestöjen ansiosta amerikkalaisyritysten ei tarvitse avoimesti vastustaa ympäristönsuojelua” Helsingin Sanomat 26.7.1998 P. D 4 (“Behind the smoke screen; Because of the cover organizations, US firms do not need openly resist the environmentalcontrol”)
- D. Campen & D H Dearth & R T Goodden (ed.):”Cyberwar; Security, Strategy, and Conflict in the Information Age” AFCEA International Press, USA 1996: Artikkeli: Elin Whitney-Smith:”War, Information and History: Changing Paradigms” P. 53 – 69.
- Sakari Ahvenainen, Finnish Defence Forces “About information warfare” 24th January Helsinki 7-8.
- Professor Shoshana Zuboff:"Viisaan koneen aikakausi" Otava 1990 P.432 (in Finnish). Originally: Shoshana Zuboff:”In the Age of the Smart Mashine; The Future of Work and Power” Basic Books, New York
- In the Gulf War of 1991 the USA had on the first day as many targets as the Allies had combined in Germany in the years 1942 and 1943. Ref. To Precision Guided Weapons and automatic Command and Control systems.