Volume 9, Issue 3

Volume 9, Issue 3

Tribute to Professor Philip M Taylor
As this issue goes to print we have just learned of the death of Philip Taylor. We received the news with shock
and sadness as Philip was not only a great intellectual gift to the area of Information Operations but an
interesting person to know – the world will be a smaller place without him. He was at the inception of the
Journal and gave great encouragement in its initial development. His edited issue on Perception Management
was the most sought after in all the issues published.
His death has taken us by surprise and because this is the day of publication, we will leave a fuller tribute to him
for a later issue. This is a sad loss.
Bill Hutchinson
8th December, 2010

Volume 9, Issue 3 Editorial

December, 2010

Welcome to the third issue of JIW for 2010 and the 27th issue overall. The Journal of Information Warfare continues to engage in the ever widening discipline of information warfare / operations. In particular, this issue puts forward a range of papers that push the information warfare envelope in several new directions. The impact of influence can now be seen through a variety of lenses, and although we contest these differences as we search to define and distinguish our efforts, we must continue to acknowledge the wide-ranging scope of information warfare.

Published In

Volume 9, Issue 3

Written By

Keywords

Editorial

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The impact of Increase in Broadband Access on South African National Security and the Average Citizen

Abstract

South Africa is the entry point to Africa and with the impending increase in broadband access, the average citizen could in future be used as a hub for launching cyber attacks on the rest of the world. This will pose a national security threat not only to South Africa but also to the rest of the world. This exponential increase in internet broadband will also result in an increase in security threats. A national security generic framework is used to analyse these threats and the impact on the average citizen with some proposals of addressing the threats.

New Technologies: Dissonance, Influence and Radical Behaviours

Abstract

Increasingly in cyberspace, the targets of influence and propaganda are becoming active participants in the process, as such phenomena such as social web sites allow arguments to be started, reinforced and added to be others within the group. This dynamic multi-channel process of indoctrination enabled by Web 2 tools has brought a new dimension to the development of influence. This speculative paper argues that although conventional access to messages on the Internet will reinforce, and possibly change attitudes, any dissonance caused by the ideas presented will not necessarily end in changing behaviours.

Published In

Volume 9, Issue 3

Written By

William (Bill) Hutchinson

Keywords

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Covert Channels in the HTTP Network Protocol: Channel Characterization and Detecting Man-in-the-Middle Attacks

Abstract

Network covert channels allow two entities to communicate stealthily. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), accounting for approximately half of all traffic on the Internet (Burke, 2007), has become the de facto standard for hiding network covert channels. Proliferation of covert channels throughout the World Wide Web has brought both challenges and enhancements to the area of Information Warfare. This paper defines a set of common characteristics, then classifies and analyzes several known and new covert channels in HTTP with respect to these characteristics. Lastly, this paper proposes that there are beneficial applications of network covert channels, such as detecting Man-in-the-Middle attacks.

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Volume 9, Issue 3

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Keywords

Network Covert Channels

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Qualifying the Information Sphere as a Domain

Abstract

Neither the U.S. Department of Defense nor NATO has an official definition of a domain, nor a set of criteria for what constitutes a domain. The authors propose a definition of a domain, define what constitutes a domain, posit how new domains are created over time, and describe six features or criteria for how to qualify what is and is not a domain. These definitions lead to our proposal that the ‘Information Sphere’ (which includes cyberspace) qualifies as a new domain, with features both similar to and different from the four existing physical domains.

Published In

Volume 9, Issue 3

Written By

Patrick D. Allen

Dennis P. Gilbert, Jr

Keywords

Information Operations

Domains

Cyberspace

Information Sphere

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Is Strategic Information Warfare Really Asymmetric?: A New Perspective from the Handicap Principle

Abstract

Any communication network, whether it is a biological network (such as animal communication network) or a computer network (such as the Internet) must be reasonably reliable (honest in the case of animal signalling) in order to fulfil its mission for transmitting and receiving messages. The strategic goal of information warfare is then to destroy or defend the reliability (honesty) of communication networks.