Volume 4, Issue 1

Volume 4, Issue 1 Editorial

February 2005

The fourth volume of the JIW has seven papers that reflect the variety of topics in the Information Warfare (Operations) discipline. The first by Geoffrey Darton explores the relationship of International Law and Information Warfare. Next Montgomery McFate takes us into the mysterious world of North Korea and examines the American perspective on the issues that could help influence operations with that state. Cecilia Andrews investigates belief systems and how belief networks can assist in Information Warfare strategies. Cameron Wells examines the differences between the US and Australian concepts of Network Centric Warfare.

Information Warfare, Revolutions in Military Affairs, and International Law

ABSTRACT

International law is relevant to information warfare and the revolution in military affairs. This paper analyzes traditional laws of war or international humanitarian law, and human rights law, in terms of applicability to information warfare. For the purpose of this analysis, the revolution in military affairs is subsumed within information warfare. There is a requirement in international law for signatories to the Geneva Conventions to assess new forms of warfare in terms of lawfulness. It seems that such analyses have been performed but results remain secret. This paper concludes it is likely that many aspects of information warfare and associated information operations involve unlawful actions. Information warfare is taking on a scope far wider than traditional battlefield operations of warfare, but this broad definition of warfare is consistent with the concept of warfare set out by Grotius, who is perhaps the key founder of international law. There is no good reason why many principles of international law do not apply to non-state actors. A further jurisprudential conclusion is that current developments in human rights law may be leading to the emergence of a new codified international personal law that is independent of custom or religion.

Published In

Volume 4, Issue 1

Written By

Geoffrey Darnton

Keywords

International Law

Information Warfare (IW)

Military Affairs

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Manipulating the Architecture of Cultural Control: A Conceptual Model for Strategic Influence Operations in North Korea

ABSTRACT

The deep structural and cultural changes taking place in North Korea provide an opportunity to conduct influence operations to shape that country’s culture and society, either to destabilize the government or to prepare the population for a regime change. This paper presents a conceptual model of how contradictions between top down, imposed culture and organic, indigenous culture can be exploited to destabilize the system, and eventually re-pattern the culture. The process includes the following steps: identification of the cultural type; understanding relevant cultural forms; identification of vulnerable targets; evaluation of the information system; identification of effective elements of persuasion; mapping of the architecture of social control; and introduction of new “attractors” to damage or destroy the constituent cultural myths.

Published In

Volume 4, Issue 1

Written By

Montgomery McFate

Keywords

North Korea

Information Operations (IO)

Psychological Operations

Social Control

Culture

Shaping

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Information Superiority & Support: Misplaced & Misunderstood

ABSTRACT

The Australian Defence Force has recently released "an important benchmark in [their] approach to harnessing the power and opportunity presented by the information age" (DoD, 2004, p i) and is seeking “active participation in the implementation and further refinement of the concept” " (DoD, 2004, p i). Entitled "A Concept for Enabling Information Superiority & Support" (herein referred to as the IS&S Concept Paper), the document sets out to describe in detail how the Australian Defence Force will achieve the information related objectives of Network Centric Warfare (DoD, 2004) that will in-turn facilitate the conduct of Multi-Dimensional Manoeuvre - The Australian Defence Force's Future Warfighting Concept.

Published In

Volume 4, Issue 1

Written By

Cameron Wells

Keywords

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Belief Systems, Information Warfare, and Counter Terrorism

ABSTRACT

This paper defines Counter Terrorism within a risk management and information warfare framework, using risk analyses based upon an understanding of Belief Systems. An understanding of how people make crucial (life threatening) ethical decisions is important to reducing the likelihood and the impact of terrorist acts. This understanding can come from analyzing and modeling the complex systems that make up the Belief Systems of terrorists and of the targets of terrorists. Counter Terrorism analysts can use these Belief Systems Models to identify key influences or relationships in Belief Networks and apply information warfare strategies to exploit or prevent events arising from crucial ethical decisions made by terrorist organizations, creating immunity in targeted societies.

Published In

Volume 4, Issue 1

Written By

Cecilia Andrews

Keywords

Information Operations (IO)

Perception Management

Multi-agent Simulations

Complexity Science

Belief Networks

Risk Analysis

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Securing PDAs in the Healthcare Environment

ABSTRACT

Wireless networks have become a key element in healthcare institutions for streamlining access to clinical information. With the advent of wireless technology, handheld devices such as PDAs, pagers and Pocket PCs are now deployed into modern hospital systems. However, integrating confidential data and wireless technology introduces significant risk and increases the potential threat to sensitive medical information. This paper investigates the fundamental concepts required to understand PDA security issues in the health sector. It examines the various risk and threat issues, the security measures needed to secure PDA use, and the appropriate security infrastructure for healthcare settings.

Published In

Volume 4, Issue 1

Written By

Emiko Terado

Patricia Williams

Keywords

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Generalising Event Correlation Across Multiple Domains

ABSTRACT

In cases involving computer related crime, event oriented evidence is coming under increased scrutiny. Automated methods of classifying events and patterns of events into higher level terminology and vocabulary hold promise for assisting investigators to cope with voluminous, low-level event oriented evidence. In a previous paper, it was demonstrated that the ontology language, OWL was an effective means of representing domain-specific event based knowledge, and when combined with a rule language, was sufficient to apply standard correlation techniques to the task of automated forensic investigation. This paper demonstrates the approach may be rapidly extended to events sourced from new domains, enabling automated cross-domain correlation and that the new approach will accommodate standardised component ontologies which model the separate domains under consideration.

Published In

Volume 4, Issue 1

Written By

Bradley Schatz

George Mohay

Andrew Clark

Keywords

Computer Forensics

Event Correlation

Modelling of IT Security

OWL

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The Myth of Cyberterrorism

ABSTRACT

Media and emerging experts often misapply the term ‘cyberterrorism’ portraying cyber attacks as a separate form of terrorism or a new terrorism. It is simply the terrorists’ use of Computer Network Operations (CNO) as a tactic in their operations. It is important to understand the psychology of terrorism in order to evaluate the plausibility of cyberterrorism. Terrorists exercise cyber related capabilities, which are generally related in the media as extreme and exaggerated vignettes of cyberterrorism. These incidents include the popular Digital Pearl Harbor, the U.S. stock market crash, utilities infrastructure attack, and crashing airliners. Is there a likely and logical application of cyber related activities by a terrorists group in pursuit of their goals, or is simply hype by media, business, and self anointed experts?