Section 7: Information Warfare Issues and Impacts

Information warfare is often thought of as an extremely precise strike against specific computers or data points with little or no collateral damage. This is not quite true. Information warfare is extremely broad in scope. It can be waged on a large scale against whole nations or cultures. On a smaller scale, it can be used to attack specific government, military, or business organizations. Information warfare can also be used on a micro scale against single computers or specific individuals.

On a large scale, information warfare attacks can be made against the very foundations of a nation's, or even a civilization's, structure. Bringing down the Wall Street Stock Exchange, even for a short while, would have a severe impact on the world financial market. It would be particularly effective if it was known that the attack was deliberate. Because all the major financial markets are very deeply intertwined, damage from such an attack would extend worldwide. Wall Street is not the only lucrative target: other examples would be the control systems for municipal power grids, telephone exchanges, and the FAA's air traffic control computers.

Specific organizational entities can be targets of informational blitzkriegs. Recently the National Rifle Association (NRA) launched a propaganda campaign against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). Subsequently the NRA itself came under exceptionally heavy criticism. While this particular battle was fought largely in the media over public opinion, other organizational "info wars" can rage in business meetings, in diplomatic overtures, or in stealthy computer hackings, which are far from the public's eye. Any Pentagon office worth its salt is actively engaged in organizational "info war" every day.

Finally, specific entities, such as computers, data files, or even individuals can be objects of attack. A hacker can gain entry to a specific computer and copy, alter, or delete files as he chooses. An individual's credit history can be altered or personal details (true or not) leaked to the press. One wrong word to the Defense Investigative Service (DIS) and an individual's security clearance can be pulled for months or forever.

Information warfare, therefore, is not a clean, antiseptic, or impersonal form of combat. It is a struggle over accurate data points, personal knowledge, and even societal values and beliefs. If these are destroyed, or even attacked, there will be side effects on all involved. Operators may not trust their equipment anymore, leading to upgrades to new systems that are more secure. A person's personal or professional reputation can be destroyed, which may be fine if that person is a Cali drug baron, but not if that person is you. On a larger scale, a disruption on Wall Street could undermine fundamental confidence in our entire financial system. The last time this occurred, the country was plunged into a decade-long depression and took much of the world with it.

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