Volume 13, Issue 1

Volume 13, Issue 1 Editorial

FEBRUARY 2014

I would like to wish all of our readers a Happy New Year. This is my fourth issue as the new Chief Editor of the Journal of Information Warfare, which gives me a chance to look back over the last 12 months to reflect on what we have done … and more importantly to think about where we want to go in the future. So far, we have published editions with eight great papers in each quarter, all of which were selected from a large number of very good articles. We continue to utilize a double-blind, peer-reviewed methodology to ensure academic rigor in the process; plus we have aligned ourselves very closely with the following IW annual events:

YouTube Wars: In and Out of Control

ABSTRACT

Communication technology has altered the ways states and people communicate in peace and war. This article uses Manuel Castells’ theory of communication power to analyse the nature of control in social media communication. Particular focus lies on studying how virtual and physical violence are created and controlled in a communication environment that includes mass self-communication alongside traditional media. The article concludes with a discussion on how a new era of decentralized control has begun with the introduction of social media, highlighting how large non-state actors, empowered by popularity, may come to play a significant role in future conflicts.

Published In

Volume 13, Issue 1

Written By

Jari Rantapelkonen

Margarita Levin Jaitner

Keywords

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3D Vulnerability Analysis Solution to the Problem of Military Energy Security and Interposing Tactics

ABSTRACT

Military energy security is defined in the same terms as its civil counterpart, energy security. Conventionally focused on policy, technology, and programmatic initiatives, it is aimed at increasing the security and sustainability of energy resources (for defence or otherwise). This remains valid if military energy security is defined in purely economic terms. In terms of alternative strategies or terrorist ‘tactics, techniques, and procedures’, a new set of operational problems arise. This article examines an attack scenario based on ‘interposing tactics’. This involves attacking and defending energy supply. The ‘3D vulnerability analysis’ tool/model is proposed as a solution.

Published In

Volume 13, Issue 1

Written By

Christopher Flaherty

Keywords

Information Warfare (IW)

Counter Terrorism

3D Vulnerability Analysis

Military Energy Security

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Security Requirements for Cloud Computing in Crisis Management

ABSTRACT

Cloud computing provides a convenient tool for crisis response teams to collaborate and share information no matter where the team members are located. Depending on the type of crisis, there may be differing security requirements for the information, and this can impact how the cloud computing is managed or whether additional security measures should be in place. This paper discusses the possible use of cloud computing as a communication tool in crisis situations, information security requirements for various types of crises, and the security requirements of cloud computing in this role.

Published In

Volume 13, Issue 1

Written By

Trishana Ramluckan

Brett van Niekerk

Keywords

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Global Influence and Cyber Macht

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on Global Influence and investigates the phenomena that the ability to influence events no longer resides primarily at the national or governmental level. Instead, small groups of people and even individuals with a potent message and a well-chosen audience are now able to broadcast their message, excite a population, and even initiate an attack. No overall theory on power has emerged in the information era because Cyber Macht is an idea that supports so many disparate academic areas. The authors attempt to lay the foundation for the formation of basic concepts for a new Cyber Macht theory.

Published In

Volume 13, Issue 1

Written By

Edwin ‘Leigh’ Armistead

Raymond ‘Scott’ Starsman

Keywords

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Twitter Deception and Influence: Issues of Identity, Slacktivism, and Puppetry

ABSTRACT

There is a lack of clarity within the social media domain about the number of discrete participants. Influence and measurement within new media is skewed towards the biggest numbers, resulting in fake tweets, sock puppets, and a range of force multipliers such as botnets, application programming interfaces (APIs), and cyborgs. Social media metrics are sufficiently manipulated away from authentic discrete usage so that the trustworthiness of identity, narrative, and authority are constantly uncertain. Elections, social causes, political agendas and new modes of online governance can now be influenced by a range of virtual entities that can cajole and redirect opinions without affirming identity or allegiance. Using the 2013 Australian Federal Election as a case study, this study demonstrates the need to increase legitimacy and validity in micro-blogging forms of new media and the need for multi-factor authentication.

Published In

Volume 13, Issue 1

Written By

Shaquille Abdul Rahman

Keywords

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Kill, Capture … or Neutralize? How Operational Planning Changes the Language of Communicating War

ABSTRACT

The doctrine of warfare influences the way language is used. The reporting of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan demonstrate that the effects-centric doctrines have started to transform the grammatical and lexical patterning of discourse. During the war in Iraq, both military experts and linguists have criticized the language of the Effects-Based Operations as complex and confusing. This article provides a cross-disciplinary perspective of the study of war discourses by discussing the linguistic characteristics of 21st century Strategic Communication as a reflection of current military doctrine and operation planning. The analysis suggests that the perceived complexity is a consequence of Effects-thinking, which has introduced the taxonomy of Effects into discourse, where they have begun to replace Action descriptions in clauses. The resulting abstract descriptions of strategy, operational art, and tactics means the information value of the clause becomes impaired. The analysis also suggests that this marks the birth of a new genre in war discourse.

Published In

Volume 13, Issue 1

Written By

Saara Jantunen

Keywords

Discourse Analysis

Neutralize

Effects-Centric

Strategic Communication (SC)

Language of War

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PrEP: A Framework for Malware & Cyber Weapons

ABSTRACT

The contemporary debate over cybersecurity rests on a set of linguistic artifacts that date from the Cold War. Attempting to glean a starting point for debate over use of terms such as ‘cyber attack’ or ‘cyber war’ is difficult, largely because there is little agreement on what constitutes a weapon in cyberspace. This paper proposes a new framework to classify malware and cyber weapons based on the different pieces of malicious code that constitute them, then evaluates competing definitions of cyber weapons, and concludes with implications for this approach.

Published In

Volume 13, Issue 1

Written By

Trey Herr

Keywords

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Educating and Training Soldiers for Information Operations

ABSTRACT

Military Training and Education is evolving because of the growing influence of Information Operations (IO) and Information Warfare (IW). This influence has grown from the tremendous changes in both technology and social issues. While military technology has changed from stones to cannons to silicon-based weapons, the basic curriculum for soldiers in some cases has not changed for centuries. Traditional training and combat skills often do not match the modern battle field. Modern soldiers must not only be traditional warriors; they must be competent in information operations and information warfare. This paper addresses how to initiate this integration.