Volume 15, Issue 1

Volume 15, Issue 1 Editorial

March 2016

Information Warfare is a term that means many things to many people. The Journal of Information Warfare (JIW) strives to be as inclusive as possible to bring in all different aspects of this important capability, from the “softer” topics, such as perception management and strategic communications, to the “harder” areas, such as computer network defense and electronic warfare.

Like My Terrorist Site? Pin It!

Abstract:

Violent Extremist Organizations (VEOs) use the Internet to disseminate information and recruit new members. Their delivery mechanisms include social media, web forums, and custom-built websites. This paper presents a novel approach for analysing the websites of VEOs that creates a graph of network requests to third-party domains. Analysis of this graph suggests a binary classifier for the intended audience of the website.

Published In

Volume 15, Issue 1

Written By

Eric Edens

William R Mahoney

Keywords

Extremist Organization

Web Tracking

Cookies

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Lone-Operator Cyberterrorism

Abstract:

This paper describes lone-operator cyberterrorism, a topic that is nearly absent in the literature. The paper will present a working definition of the base terms—terrorism, lone operator, and cyberterrorism—in order to start the conversation, and will compare and contrast the motivation, expectations, and characteristics of the lone-operator terrorist and lone-operator cyberterrorist.

Published In

Volume 15, Issue 1

Written By

Keywords

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Employment of 3D-Printed Guns in the 5D Battlespace

Abstract:

The emergence of 3D-printed guns over 2013-15 is part of a more fundamental shift in the dynamics of war caused by two different forms of convergence. One is technology convergence, and the second is the bundling-up of various tactical and operational concepts, developed over the last two decades. These have converged into a broad-based concept called five-dimensional operations or battlespace.

Published In

Volume 15, Issue 1

Written By

Christopher Flaherty

Keywords

Counter Terrorism

Deception

Information Warfare

Five-Dimensional Operations

Battlespace

3D-Printed Gun

Convergence

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U.S. Energy Sector Cybersecurity: Hands-off Approach or Effective Partnership?

Abstract:

Recent reporting has identified significant threats to the U.S. energy’s critical infrastructure from nation states and other groups through cyberspace. Efforts to improve the security and resilience of U.S. energy infrastructure relies upon voluntary partnerships between the U.S. Government and public and private energy infrastructure owners.

Published In

Volume 15, Issue 1

Written By

Todd Ballou

Joseph A. Allen

Kyle K. Francis

Keywords

Cybersecurity

Public-Private Partnerships

Critical Infrastructure Protection

Energy Sector

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The Relevance of South African Legislation on Social Media as a Strategic Disaster and Crisis Communications Tool

Abstract:

Disruptive justice is believed to be an irreconcilable element with the rule of law, which only establishes the rule to govern society in context. With the emergence and influence of social media, it has become evident that citizens within a country have the ability and enabling technologies to mobilise the masses and influence governments and organizations.

Published In

Volume 15, Issue 1

Written By

Trishana Ramluckan

Mogie Subban

Brian McArthur

Keywords

Rule of Law

Social Media

Crisis Communication

Strategic Communications

Disaster Management

Governance

Legislation

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Is Social Media a Threat or Can It Be a Trusted Agent?

Abstract:

There is a prevailing belief within the United States Department of Defense (DOD) that social media is a threat to national security, leading to restrictions in workplace use of social-media applications. However, instead of dismissing social media as a threat, leaders should be asking whether or not the information received via social media can be trusted, thus leveraging the information-sharing capabilities of social media. This article presents a theoretical case for quantifying social media trustworthiness by exploring the factors that influence trust in social media and proposing a trust framework to be used to quantify trustworthiness.

Published In

Volume 15, Issue 1

Written By

William Ward

Katherine Cole-Miller

Ann Fruhling

Kate Cooper

Keywords

Decision Making

Social Media

Trust

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A Semantic Approach to Modelling of Cybersecurity Domain

Abstract:

This paper addresses the issue of mastering the complex body of knowledge that is relevant for cybersecurity. The wide spectrum of threats and wide variety of resources are considered, and a semantic approach is proposed, as it seems not to be referred to very often in this context. The authors here examine how semantic technology may address the nature of this body of knowledge. Ultimately, the article seeks to enable sharing of security-related knowledge across separate sources of data concerning various entities, such as vulnerabilities and attack types, and also across communities of IT professionals, hackers, defence researchers, and others.

Published In

Volume 15, Issue 1

Written By

Adiel Aviad

Krzysztof Węcel

Witold Abramowicz

Keywords

Cybersecurity

Semantic Web Technology

Attacks

Threats

Ontology

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Cache-Timing Attach against AES Crypto-Systems Countermeasure Using Weighted Average Making Time Algorithm

Abstract:

Information leaked from encryption systems during its implementation is known as side-channel information and can lead to side-channel attacks. Side-channel attacks can be carried out if an attacker has access to a cryptosystem (victim) or can interact with it remotely. A cache-timing attack is a special type of side-channel attack during which an attacker can extract sensitive information (encryption key or plaintext) by collecting and analysing the variances in encryption timing caused by a cache miss/hit.