Today you can often hear the concept of "information war", but not everyone understands what this concept is. Moreover, there is no exact time when this phrase appeared, as well as when it occurred to someone to use information as a weapon. Moreover, if you try to clarify the situation a little, even more questions will arise, without answers to which it will be impossible to define the essence of the concept of "information war". So, in particular, what is an information war, by what means and methods is it carried out, what is the purpose of such a war? Can hacker attacks be considered military actions, and if the answer is yes - what methods can be used to respond to them …
If you delve into the essence of the issue, it becomes quite obvious that the informational impact has always existed. Even in ancient times, mythology was used as the first information attacks. So, in particular, the Mongol-Tatars were famous as cruel merciless warriors, which undermined the fighting spirit of the opponents. It should also be noted that psychological attitudes towards defense and resistance were also supported by the corresponding ideology. Thus, the only difference between the influences of the distant past and the present is that then it was not called wars. This was explained by the lack of technical means of data transmission.
At the moment, the widespread dissemination of numerous information networks has led to the fact that the power of information weapons has been multiplied. The situation is aggravated by the fact that modern society is presented as the most open, which creates the preconditions for increasing the volume of information flows.
It should be noted that any information is based on the events of the surrounding world. In order to turn into information, these events must be perceived and analyzed in some way.
There are several concepts that are based on attempts to define the role of information in human life. So, for example, there is the concept of Walter Lipman, an American journalist, which is based on the use of a social stereotype in propaganda practice. This concept became the basis for the propaganda method of stereotyping mass thinking. The journalist analyzed the mass consciousness, as well as the role of the media in the formation of generally accepted opinion, as a result of which he concluded that stereotypes have a great influence on the perception process. The essence of Lipman's concept boils down to the fact that a person perceives the world around him according to a simplified model, because reality is too vast and changeable, and therefore a person first imagines the world around him, and only then sees. It is under the influence of data about events, and not from direct observation of what is happening, that a person develops standardized ideas about the world. But this, according to the journalist, is the norm. It is stereotypes that cause in a person feelings of sympathy or antipathy, hatred or love, anger or fear in relation to various social events. At the same time, Lipman argued that only the press, using information, is capable of creating a false picture of the world, which does not correspond to reality at all. Thus, the press, in his opinion, has numerous manipulative powers. The impact on the human psyche with the help of socially colored models will always be effective, because the influence created by stereotypes is the deepest and most subtle.
Theorists and practitioners of propaganda not only adopted Lipman's ideas about the impact of illusory stereotypes on a person, but also supplemented them with the need for such an impact. Therefore, most of them firmly believe that propaganda should be directed not to the human mind, but to emotions.
One of Lipman's followers was a French scientist who dealt with the problems of propaganda research. He believed that to some extent all human prejudices and stereotypes are products of propaganda. Moreover, the larger the audience, the greater the need to simplify propaganda. In his book, Propaganda, the scientist gives advice on how to carry out propaganda more effectively. He notes that first of all, you need to know the audience well and the set of stereotypes that exist in it. Stereotypes are the basis of the myths on which any ideology is based. The press in any society, using stereotyping, implants certain illusions into the human consciousness, which help to maintain the existing system, to foster loyalty to the existing order.
Hitler also did not refuse to use propaganda, who in his book "My Struggle" defined five principles of conducting a propaganda campaign: appeal to human feelings, while avoiding abstract concepts; use stereotypes and repeat the same ideas over and over; use constant criticism of enemies; apply only one side of the argument; to single out one enemy and constantly “throw mud at him.
In order to consolidate control over the masses, certain methods are used. These include the implementation of economic control through the creation of financial crises of artificial origin. To get out of such a crisis, a loan is needed, which is given, as a rule, after the fulfillment of a number of obligations (which, by the way, are obviously impracticable). The concealment of real information is also very often used; the state has a monopoly on this method. If a situation arises when real information cannot be completely hidden, they resort to the use of information garbage, that is, important truthful information is immersed in a large amount of empty information. An example of this is the huge number of meaningless programs and shows on television. Another example is the annual address of the head of state to the people on New Year's Eve.
A method such as the shift of concepts is often used, when a generally recognized term is used for other purposes, as a result of which its meaning in the public sense changes. In addition, the use of meaningless concepts that are heard, but which no one can explain, is also used.
At the same time, everyone understands perfectly well that someone needs to be paid for positive information, while negative information sells itself. Therefore, negative information is often given priority over positive information. Therefore, you can see a huge number of scandalous reports in the press.
References to non-existent data are often used. Ratings are a striking example of this. Another example is best-seller shelves in bookstores. One gets the impression that if some of the publications presented there were placed on any other shelf, they simply would not be bought, because it is impossible to read them. But, again, a person is a social being, he is characterized by uncertainty in his tastes and interests.
Informational taboos are also used, that is, certain information that everyone knows about, but which is prohibited from discussion. In addition, it is not uncommon to hear direct blatant lies, which for some reason are defined as a lie for salvation. For example, in order not to disturb the people with the data on the large number of hostages or victims of any disaster, an extremely underestimated figure is called.
Information wars can be used in such areas as industrial espionage, life support infrastructure of states, hacking and further use of personal data of people, disinformation, electronic interference in the command and control of military systems and facilities, and disabling military communications.
For the first time the concept of "information war" was used by the American Thomas Rona in a report entitled "Weapon systems and information war." It was then determined that the information infrastructure had become one of the main components of the US economy, while at the same time becoming an open target not only in wartime, but also in peacetime.
As soon as the report was published, it was the start of an active press campaign. The problem outlined by Ron was of great interest to the American military. This was the result of the fact that by 1980 there was a common understanding that information can become not only a target, but a very effective weapon.
After the end of the Cold War, the concept of "information war" appeared in the documents of the American military department. And in the press, it began to be actively used after the 1991 operation "Desert Storm", during which for the first time new information technologies were used as weapons. However, the official introduction of the term "information war" into the documentation took place only at the end of 1992.
A few years later, in 1996, the US military department introduced the "Doctrine of Combating Command and Control Systems." It outlined the main methods of combating state systems of command and control, in particular, the use of information warfare in the course of hostilities. This document defined the structure, planning, training and management of the operation. Thus, the doctrine of information warfare was first defined. In 1996, Robert Bunker, an expert from the Pentagon, presented a paper on the new US military doctrine. The document said that the entire theater of war is divided into two components - ordinary space and cyberspace, which is of greater importance. Thus, a new sphere of military operations was introduced - information.
A little later, in 1998, the Americans defined information warfare. It was designated as a complex impact on the system of military-political rule of the enemy, on the leadership, which, in peacetime, would facilitate the adoption of decisions favorable to the initiator, and in wartime, would cause a complete paralysis of the enemy's administrative infrastructure. Information warfare includes a set of measures aimed at achieving information superiority in the process of ensuring the implementation of the national military strategy. Simply put, it is the ability to collect, distribute and process information without letting the enemy do the same. Information superiority makes it possible to maintain an unacceptable pace of the operation for the enemy, and thus ensures dominance, unpredictability and anticipation of the enemy.
It should be noted that if initially America named China and Russia among its potential cyber opponents, today in more than 20 countries of the world information operations are being carried out and are being carried out, which are directed against the Americans. Moreover, some states that are in opposition to the United States have incorporated information warfare into their military doctrines.
Among the states that have confirmed preparations for information wars, American experts single out, in addition to China and Russia, Cuba and India. Libya, North Korea, Iraq, Iran and Syria have great potential in this direction, and Japan, France and Germany are already very active in this direction.
It makes sense to dwell in a little more detail on the approaches that various states use in the field of information warfare.
Until recently, Russia did not have a definite position on this problem, which, according to a number of experts, was the reason for the defeat in the Cold War. And only in 2000, the head of state signed the Doctrine of information security of Russia. However, in it, the first place was taken to ensure individual, group and public information security. To fulfill the provisions of this document, a special body was created - the Information Security Directorate in the Security Council of the Russian Federation. Currently, several divisions are engaged in the development of domestic methods of waging information warfare: the FSB, FAPSI and the "R" Department in the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, whose area of authority includes investigations of crimes related to information technology.
As for China, the concept of "information war" has long been introduced into the lexicon of the military of this state. Currently, the country is moving towards the creation of a unified doctrine of information warfare. It can also be argued that at the moment China is a state in which a real revolution in cyberspace is taking place. By the way, the concept of information war in China is based on the idea of waging war in general, which, in turn, is based on the principles of "people's war". In addition, local perceptions of how to fight at the operational, strategic and tactical levels are also taken into account. The Chinese definition of information warfare sounds like a transition from mechanized warfare to intelligence warfare. The country is developing the concept of the Network Forces, the essence of which is to form military units up to the level of a battalion, which would include highly qualified specialists in the field of computer technology. Moreover, China has already conducted several large-scale military exercises aimed at working out the concept of information warfare.
In the United States of America, the main development of the concept began with the creation of the Presidential Commission for the Protection of Infrastructure in 1996. This body has identified certain vulnerabilities in the country's national security in the field of information. The result was the National Information Systems Security Plan, which was signed in 2000 and cost more than $ 2 billion to implement.
Americans have made significant progress in improving methods and techniques for working with evidence of computer crimes. In particular, in 1999, a forensic computer laboratory of the military department was created, which is designed to process computer evidence on crimes, as well as during intelligence and counterintelligence activities. The laboratory also provides support to the FBI. Laboratory specialists took part in such operations as "Sunrise", "Labyrinth of Moonlight", "Digital Demon".
In order to increase the capabilities of protecting information systems in the United States, a joint operational group for the protection of computer networks of the Ministry of Defense was created. Also, work was carried out related to the creation of an alarm system to detect the vulnerability of the information network. In addition, a databank was created, which is aimed at the immediate distribution of information about a potential threat to each system administrator with a brief description of the response actions aimed at localizing the vulnerability.
At the same time, if we analyze the information that is available on the Internet, we can come to the conclusion that the level of information security has slightly increased. As representatives of the American administration themselves note, the national information security system turned out to be too clumsy and cumbersome. Very often the process of transferring information was hampered by bureaucratic delays. Therefore, when new computer viruses appeared, treatment was found out of time.
In addition, there is a shortage of highly qualified personnel in the field of information security system maintenance, as evidenced by the attempt to attract students to departments in exchange for their tuition fees.
Something similar is observed in Germany. The concept of information war includes the concept of offensive and defensive information war in order to achieve their goals. At the same time, the German definition is more systematic, in particular, when determining the threat, states are considered separately from political parties, the media, hackers and other criminal communities, as well as individual individuals.
At the same time, there are certain differences between these two definitions - German and American. For example, Germany includes control over the media as an element of information warfare. In addition, the concept of economic information war is also introduced, which is explained by the understanding of the potential for possible economic losses, as well as the fact that in practice these losses from France had to be experienced in the field of industrial espionage.
In Great Britain, ideas about information warfare are almost identical to those of the United States. But at the same time, the British also use legal laws, which to a certain extent can be applied to cyberspace. One of these laws was passed in 2000. It assumes that an information crime is tantamount to an ordinary criminal offense. Thus, the government has every right to intercept and read someone else's e-mail, decrypt personal data.
In NATO itself, there is a secret definition of information warfare, which is closed to the press. Therefore, at the conference on the problems of information warfare, which was held in 2000, all participants used the terms developed in their states. However, there are certain prerequisites to assume that the NATO definition resembles the American one.
In France, the concept of information warfare is considered in the unity of two elements: economic and military. The military concept assumes limited use of information operations, in particular, in peacekeeping operations. At the same time, the social concept considers the wider application of information technology. In particular, the French do not look back at NATO, America or the UN, coming out of the conviction that an ally can be an adversary at the same time. Cyberspace control structures are actively functioning in the country.
Thus, we can conclude that in many states of the world an active process of creating systems of protection against American information aggression and expansion is currently underway, therefore developments of this type have become a priority in national security policy. But the problems of information security are unlikely to be solved, because every day more and more types of information weapons appear, the consequences of which are unknown, and the means of protection are not very effective.
