Section 2: Information Collection

Over the years, we have developed a remarkable number of highly effective data collection systems. Some of them are overt, such as an AEGIS radar system. Others operate more covertly, while still others are not usually considered as "collection systems", even though they are.

Tactical systems, such as radar, sonar, and ESM systems on ships and aircraft, have provided the backbone of data points for front-line naval forces. Increasing integration with Air Force assets and Army systems is expanding both the breadth and depth of data available for tactical forces. This data volume growth affects all services pretty much equally: a carrier task group is now more aware of ground-based targets, and the Army and Air Force can now get more information about maritime threats.

National intelligence systems are playing an increasingly important role and can provide a veritable flood of raw data points. Some of this can now be issued in near-real-time. New developments will increase the volume from this data firehose several fold over the next decade. While some systems operate on the "vacuum cleaner" approach, providing data on everything they detect within an area of interest, others have focused on improving their selectivity and flexibility in order to zero in on particular targets.

Open source information is also becoming much more important. Publications like Jane's Fighting Ships and Aviation Week and Space Technology have long been a staple of afloat libraries, but the real potential of unclassified sources is only now being tapped. CNN, for example, gained prominence during the Gulf War and occasionally provided warfighters with live, combat-useful information. Over the last few years, the Internet has grown from a tool for the scientific community into an increasingly vital role in the economic, political, social, and military worlds.

Our support systems, such as supply and logistics, disbursing records, personnel and medical records, and so on, are not usually thought of as data collection systems. Yet, with the increase in automation and communication over the last decade, they are becoming tremendously efficient at capturing vital information. The civilian world is extremely adept at using this sort of tool. For example, your last credit card statement is probably reflected in the records of several independent credit reporting firms, your auto insurance agency has access to your driving record, and your purchasing habits have landed you on a number of different junk mailing lists. While these examples may seem innocuous, the information in each database, and the information exchange systems that are growing up around them, represent a new type of threat which must be considered in any effective IW strategy.

These and other information collection systems, both military and civilian, are providing increasing amounts of data. To a large extent, this is driven by technology. The explosion in computing power, and the abilities to store and transfer huge amounts of information, show no signs of letup. While these new systems provide us with more information on which to base our decisions, they also provide our opponents with new entryways through which they can access, copy, corrupt, or destroy our data or data about us. In information warfare, as in any activity, new capabilities carry with them new vulnerabilities.

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