Volume 20, Issue 4

Volume 20, Issue 4 Editorial

Fall 2021

The Journal of Information Warfare (JIW) was launched in Washington at InfoWarCon 2001, on Thursday, September 6th, 2001. The following Tuesday saw the world and Information Warfare change dramatically. Now 20 years later, we desired to get the original authors in the two issues published in 2001, to write new papers to show the changes over the last 20 years as they see them. In this way, this volume is different as the papers are personalised. The experience of the authors makes this entertaining and informative to all JIW readers. We could not track down all the authors or persuade some to write again but we do have a good selection. I hope you feel the same.

My Unusual, Unexpected, and Unpredictable IW Journey, 1988-2021: A Memoir & Observations on the Future of IW Education

Abstract:

Up until 1981 I was a professional recording engineer and producer. By pure happenstance, in 1983 I was introduced to encryption while consulting to Western Digital. That work led me to a quite unconventional career shift that put me, an audio engineer, in the middle of international intriques surrounding the early days of information warfare. This is my story.

Published In

Volume 20, Issue 4

Written By

Winn Schwartau

Keywords

Analogue Network Security

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Some Basic Principles of Information Warfare: A Reappraisal for 2021

Abstract:

Whilst the objectives of Information War have not changed much from 2001 and centuries before that, the practice of Information Warfare has. War tends to have the same objectives over time whilst the ways it is pursued—Warfare—has changed significantly. This paper is an update of the theoretical background to Information Warfare from the perspective of the definitions of its basic elements: data, knowledge and information, systems and network theory, power and the developing ubiquity of digital communications between individuals, groups, digital sensors, and Artificially Intelligence (AI) driven robots. It finishes on some of the potential political and social issues that might be encountered in future practices of Information Warfare.

Published In

Volume 20, Issue 4

Written By

William (Bill) Hutchinson

Keywords

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Cyber Warfare Evolution and Role in Modern Conflict

Abstract:

With the advent of powered flight came a shift in military tactics. This shift was not sudden or spectacular but evolved slowly over decades. Similarly, the development of the cyber domain and its impact on the information domain is creating a shift in warfare that nation states are adapting to as it evolves. This shift appears to be not only affecting the way international actors interact within the cyber realm but is also having a strong impact on conflict within the information domain.

Published In

Volume 20, Issue 4

Written By

George Noel

Mark Reith

Keywords

Cyber Warfare

Cyber Domain

Information Operations

Influence Operations

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Australia Critical Infrastructure Protection: A Twenty-Year Journey

Abstract:

The aim of the paper is to describe Australia’s national Cyber Security strategy development since the late 1990s to the 2020s. A common theme is that the management of Australia’s commercial critical infrastructure has presented ongoing challenges to industry and the government. A key issue of the Australian situation is that that the majority of critical infrastructure resides under the control of the business sector and not under direct government control. The paper also describes the new Cyber Security critical infrastructure issues associated with the COVID-19 situation.

Published In

Volume 20, Issue 4

Written By

Matt Warren

Keywords

Critical Infrastructure Protection

Australia

Cyber Security

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The Developmental History of the Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies (CATS)

Abstract:

This article describes how to develop, adapt, and manage an independent think tank approaching new cross-sectoral forms of national security threats within a government stove-piped system. The Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies at the Swedish Defence University was in a European context a unique hybrid entity that combined academic research with policy relevant recommendations and trusted second opinions to Cabinet departments and agencies. This article explores how to bend stovepipes within a Swedish context in the areas of Counter Terrorism, Intel-ligence Studies, Cyber Security, and Influence Operations.

Published In

Volume 20, Issue 4

Written By

Lars Nicander

Keywords

Information Op-erations

Intelligence

Counter Terrorism

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Categorising Cybercrime and Cybercriminals: The Problem and How It Has Changed

Abstract:

Twenty years ago, the Journal of Information Warfare published a paper examining the problem of cybercrime and the nature of those responsible for it. Taking its cue from the title of the original paper, this sequel begins by reflecting upon the situation of two decades ago, before jumping forward to examine the landscape of today.