Information technology warfare
In the information technology struggle, the main objects of attack and protection are control and communication systems, telecommunication systems, and various electronic means. The concept of "information weapons", which became widespread after the completion of the military operation against Iraq in 1991, was formed precisely as a result of the emergence of means of conducting information and technical warfare. The decisive contribution to the defeat of Iraq was made by the integrated use of intelligence, control, communications, navigation and electronic warfare, the totality of which was defined as an information weapon of the theater of military operations. The experience of local wars at the end of the twentieth century indicates that a mandatory attribute of victory in modern combat is the conquest of superiority in the information sphere. In wartime, the conduct of information warfare is assumed at the strategic, operational and tactical levels. But information weapons must be used even before the start of hostilities, and fully used already during battles. Even in peacetime, the objects and goals of this struggle are the information resources of the state, which primarily include information that exists on tangible media or in any other form. The special importance of information resources is due to the key position that, due to the special role of information as a system-forming factor, they occupy in relation to any other resources of the state - economic, scientific, technical and actually military.
First of all, information weapons are directed against the armed forces, enterprises of the defense complex, and security structures. In attacks, attacks are carried out on telecommunications or transport systems. Versatility, secrecy, multiple forms of hardware and software implementation, radical impact, sufficient choice of place and time of use, cost-effectiveness make information weapons extremely dangerous. It allows you to conduct offensive actions anonymously, without declaring war. Martin Libicki's classification considers the methods of conducting these actions in the following forms:
command and control,
intelligence,
electronic,
economic,
cyber warfare,
hacker warfare.
1. Command and control information warfare.
It is possible to destroy the enemy's command structure by aiming a blow at the army leader or the command headquarters - the "head" or the network of communications connecting the command with the bulk of the troops - the "neck". A blow to the "head" is a proven technique of all military operations since ancient times. During the Gulf War, the success of American military operations was largely ensured by the preliminary destruction of the command and control structure of enemy troops. Thus, they managed to achieve the disorientation of the Iraqi troops and the ineffectiveness of their military actions. The headquarters of the enemy's command are easily recognized by the large number of communications that surround them, the constant movement of large flows of information. Modern information technologies make it possible to use this method in a new way. Now the enemy's communications can be destroyed not only with the help of bombs, or a physical attack, but through a computer system, for example by cutting off the supply of electricity, jamming radio waves, introducing viruses into a computer network. A blow to the "neck", a break in the connection between the command and the main army will allow you to separate the "head" from the "trunk", thereby the enemy will lose his legal capacity. In order to use this method, you need to know exactly how the enemy's communication takes place, how important it is for the enemy's command to constantly keep in touch with the army. Every action in the information war must be preceded by careful research and intelligence work so that it brings the necessary result. For example, during the Vietnam War, the destruction of communication between the army and the command did not have the expected effect, since strategists in the United States did not take into account the peculiarities of Vietnamese traditions in the conduct of war. It turned out that in Vietnam, unlike the United States, individual army units have great independence and they are able to independently plan military operations, organize resistance without supreme command for a long time. Thus, blows to the "head" and "neck" did not give any positive results. In addition, the destruction of a leader or command can lead to such an unpleasant effect as the spread of uncontrolled guerrilla warfare.
2. Intelligence warfare.
Traditionally, the army command receives information from intelligence about the location of the enemy, its qualitative and quantitative characteristics. This is necessary in order to plan further military activities. Modern intelligence, thanks to the development of information technology, can provide the command with a sufficient amount of information about the enemy. The main job of a scout today is to adequately analyze the information received, contributing to the adoption of effective actions. The defensive component of this type of war involves the work of "deception" of intelligence sources when they are not destroyed, but violated in such a way as to transmit incorrect information.
3. Electronic warfare.
This is a special type of information warfare designed to disrupt or impede the functioning of the enemy's electronic means by radiation, reflection of electromagnetic signals, acoustic and infrared signals. This fight is carried out by ground, ship and aircraft jamming systems. This includes methods for jamming enemy radio signals, radio intercepts, and disrupting the proper operation of radars by introducing errors into the computer network. The means of conducting electronic warfare include electromagnetic bombs and electromagnetic guns. A powerful electromagnetic pulse (up to tens of gigawatts) emitted by these devices disables all electronic equipment.
4. Hacker war (computer wars).
The purpose of an attack may be the complete destruction of a computer system, its temporary failure, programming for the issuance of erroneous information, theft of information or services. An attack on military information systems can be carried out both during conflict and in peacetime. Attacking information weapons of this type are widespread and diverse. According to S. P. Rastorguev, information weapons should be called means of destruction, theft, distortion of information arrays, means of disorganizing the operation of technical devices, computer systems.
Malware is capable of destroying the software of computer systems. They can multiply, be embedded in programs, transmitted over communication lines, data transmission networks, and disable control systems.
In addition, this includes various means of suppressing information exchange in telecommunications networks, falsification of information in the channels of state and military administration, various kinds of errors deliberately introduced by the infiltrator into the object's software.
5. Economic war.
There are two varieties of it. The first is an information blockade, when the aggressor country blocks the flow of information from the outside world necessary for the prosperity of the state. The second type is formational imperialism - the predominance of information products of one country, the expansion of its values and culture in various manifestations. The most striking example is the processes of "Americanization" of the modern world.
6. Cyber warfare.
This type of information warfare does not exist yet, but it is assumed that further development of information technology should lead to it.
Among the variants of cyber wars, semantic attacks and simulation wars are now the most understandable to comprehend. The difference between semantic attacks and ordinary hacking is that the system does not fail, does not collapse, it continues to function normally, but is configured in such a way as to give the user incorrect answers, incorrectly solves the tasks set. Simulation wars are fought only in virtual space, and the winner of them is recognized as the winner in the real world.
