New Text Document txt 17 April 97 This paper was downloaded from the Internet Distribution Statement A Approved for public release distribution is unlimited POC US Air Force Chief of Staff Ronald R Fogleman r -yi 3 l' Bi in n r MsirtjifcUtfi-- w im grjssESEKT R ABpzewod tat pafcuc reieos 70418 010 1X110 UAimr INBEBCTBD 3 CORNERSTONES OF INFORMATION WARFARE http www af mil pubs comer html CORNERSTONES OF INFORMATION WARFARE FOREWORD As information systems permeate our military and civilian lives we are crossing a new frontier - the Information Age it will define the 21 st century and influence all we do as an air force Information Warfare has become central to the way nations fight wars and will be critical to Air Force operations in the 21 st century This means of course that today we must invest in our people planning equipment and research so our ambitions can become reality We will involve every Air Force person'in this effort generating a wave of momentum that will carry us into the next millennium Information Warfare is not the exclusive domain of the Air Force or any other service information technology advances will make dramatic changes in how this nation fights wars in the future They will allow a commander's vision and view of the battlespace to be shared at the lowest level Because of this every practitioner of the profession of arms has a responsibility to understand the impact of information' warfare on their service From our unique perspectives as soldier sailor marine or airman we can then forge a common understanding of how to use information warfare to enhance joint warfightine capabilities Ronald R Fogleman General US AF Chief of Staff Sheila E Widnall Secretary of the Air Force CORNERSTONES OF INFORMATION WARFARE The competition for information is as old as human conflict it is virtually a defining characteristic of humanity Nations corporations and individuals each seek to increase and protect their own store of information while trying to limit and penetrate the adversary's Since around 1970 there have been extraordinary improvements in the technical means of collecting storing analyzing and transmitting information Reams have been written about the impact of this technical revolution on the conduct of war particularly since DESERT STORM However most of the literature focuses primarily on technical developments not on how these developments impact doctrine This paper will pose questions important to Air Force policy makers and provide answers firmly grounded on concise definitions institutional experience and doctrinal concepts In the process it will clarify why the competition for information which predates the dawn of history is suddenly a riveting national security topic Closer to home this paper will also describe how Air Force doctrine should evolve to accommodate information warfare The ultimate goal is a sound foundation on which to base the inevitable changes in organizing training equipping and employing military forces and capabilities WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT INFORMATION NOW Because there is a technological revolution' sweeping through information systems and their integration into our daily lives leading to the term 'Information Age ' information-related technologies concentrate data vastly increase the rate at which we process and transmit data and intimately couple the results into virtually every aspect of our lives The Information Age is also transforming all military operations by providing commanders with information unprecedented in quantity and quality 2 The commander with the advantage in observing the battlespace analyzing events and distributing information possesses of 11 m 1 4 4 97 6 53 AM CORNERSTONES OF INFORMATION WARFARE http www af mil pubs comer html with the advantage in observing the battlespace analyzing events and distributing information possesses a powerful if not decisive lever over the adversary Before continuing we must distinguish between information age warfare and information warfare We make this distinction because much of the literature treats information warfare and advances in information technology synonymously Information age warfare uses information technology as a tool to impart our combat operations with unprecedented economies of time and force 3 Ultimately information age warfare will affect all combat operations In contrast information warfare the point of this paper views information itself as a separate realm potent weapon and lucrative target Information as we will show below is technology independent However information age technology is turning a theoretical possibility into fact directly 4 manipulating the adversary's information This is the driving force behind this paper WHAT IS INFORMATION This question is elementary but pivotal It is impossible to discuss information warfare meaningfully without rigorously defining the central concept information Information derives from phenomena Phenomena observable facts or events are everything that happens around us Phenomena must be perceived and interpreted to become information Information then is the result of two things perceived phenomena data and the instructions required to interpret ' that data and give it meaning This distinction is important and easily encompassed by a familiar paradox If a tree falls but no one was around to hear it did it make a noise The falling tree caused pressure waves in the atmosphere a phenomenon Noise the information denoting a falling tree occurs when someone's ear detects the pressure waves creating data and the brain's instructions manipulate that data into the sound recognizable as a falling tree Within that person's context there is no falling tree until the person hears or sees it Phenomena become information through observation and analysis Therefore information is an abstraction of phenomena Information is the result of our perceptions and interpretations regardless of the means As falling trees make clear to define information requires only two characteristics Information data and instructions Note that the definition for information is absolutely distinct from technology However what we can do with information and how fast we can do it is very dependent on technology Technology dramatically enhances our observational means expands and concentrates data storage and accelerates instruction processing We use the following term to encompass the technology-dependent elements associated with information Information Function any activity involving the acquisition transmission storage or transformation of information For example the system that tells a machine to stamp eighty hubcaps is performing an information function The sheet metal press stamping those hubcaps is not WHAT ARE SOME MILITARY INFORMATION FUNCTIONS Quality information is the counter to the fog of war As mentioned earlier the commander with better information holds a powerful advantage over his adversary Military operations make special demands on information functions in seeking to give the commander an information advantage Surveillance and reconnaissance are our powers of observation Intelligence and weather analysis are the bases for orienting observations We use those bases to form an Air Tasking Order which command and control operations execute and monitor in directing the conflict Precision navigation enhances mission performance Together these are the kinds of military information functions that enhance all military 2ofn 4 4 97 6 53 AM CORNERSTONES OF INFORMATION WARFARE http www af mil pubs corner html performance Together these are the kinds of military information functions that enhance all military operations Collectively we use the term military information functions to describe force enhancing information functions Military Information Function any information function supporting and enhancing the employment of military forces This definition serves to delineate militarily important information functions from the total universe of information functions WHAT IS INFORMATION WARFARE At the grand strategy level nations seek to acquire exploit and protect information in support of their objectives This exploitation and protection can occur in the economic political or military arenas Knowledge of the adversary's information is a means to enhance our own capabilities degrade or counteract enemy capabilities and protect our own assets including our own information This is not new The struggle to discover and exploit information started the first time one group of people tried to gain advantage over another Information warfare consists of targeting the enemy's information and information functions while protecting our own with the intent of degrading his will or capability to fight 5 Drawing on the definitions of information and information functions we define information warfare as Information Warfare any action to deny exploit corrupt or destroy the enemy's information and its functions protecting ourselves against those actions and exploiting our own military information functions 6 This definition is the basis for the following assertions Information warfare is any attack against an information function regardless of the means Bombing a telephone switching facility is information warfare So is destroying the switching facility's software Information warfare is any action to protect our information functions regardless of the means Hardening and defending the switching facility against air attack is information warfare So is using an anti-virus program to protect the facility's software Information warfare is a means not an end in precisely the same manner that air warfare is a means not an end We may use information warfare as a means to conduct strategic attack and interdiction for example just as we may use air warfare to conduct strategic attack and interdiction Militaries have always tried to gain or affect the information required for an adversary to effectively employ forces Past strategies typically relied on measures such as feints and deception to influence decisions by affecting the decision maker's perceptions Because these strategies influenced information through the perception process they attacked the enemy's information indirectly That is for deception to be effective the enemy had to do three things o observe the deception analyze the deception as reality and act upon the deception according to the deceiver's goals However modern means of performing information functions give information added vulnerability direct access and manipulation 7 Modern technology now permits an adversary to change or create information without relying on observation and interpretation Here is a short list of modem information system characteristics creating this vulnerability concentrated storage access speed widespread information transmission and the increased capacity for information systems to direct actions 3 of 11 4 4 97 6 53 AM CORNERSTONES OF INFORMATION WARFARE http www af mil pubs comer html information transmission and the increased capacity for information systems to direct actions autonomously Intelligent security measures can reduce but not eliminate this vulnerability their absence makes it glaring Militaries are not inclined to trust their success to the fortunes of war So we must direct our information warfare efforts to more than just targeting an adversary's information we must also defend our own information and all its operations The Air Force depends heavily upon military information functions making us vulnerable to information warfare The integrity of our military information functions as well as the information itself bears heavily and directly on the success of our military operations INFORMATION WARFARE ATTACK DEFEND INFORMATION EXPLOIT INFORMATION PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS MILITARY DECEPTION SECURITY MEASURES PHYSICAL DESTRUCTION INFORMATION ATTACK ELECTRONIC WARFARE INFORMATION OPERATIONS WHAT COMPRISES INFORMATION WARFARE Recalling the definition information warfare consists of activities that deny exploit corrupt destroy or protect information Traditional means of conducting information warfare include psychological operations electronic warfare military deception physical attack and various security measures Psychological Operations use information to affect the enemy's reasoning Electronic Warfare denies accurate information to the enemy 8 Military Deception misleads the enemy about our capabilities or intentions 9 Physical Destruction can do information warfare by affecting information system elements through the conversion of stored energy to destructive power The means of physical attack range from conventional bombs to electromagnetic pulse weapons Security Measures seek to keep the adversary from learning about our military capabilities and intentions 10 The Information Age has provided new and practical means to deny exploit corrupt or destroy information U as well as the vulnerabilities to make those attacks possible Air Force doctrine does not yet acknowledge or define these assaults on information which we call Information Attack Information Attack directly corrupting 12 information without visibly changing the physical entity within which it resides Information attack constrained by the definition of information is limited to directly altering data or 4 of 11 4 4 97 6 53 AM CORNERSTONES OF INFORMATION WARFARE http www af mil pubs corner html Information attack constrained by the definition of information is limited to directly altering data or instructions It is therefore just another means of conducting information warfare one whose immediate effects do not include visible changes to the entity within which the information resides That is to say after being subjected to information attack an information function is indistinguishable from its original state except through inspecting its data or instructions 13 HOW IS INFORMATION ATTACK DIFFERENT As previously described there are two ways to influence the adversary's information functions indirectly and directly Indirect information warfare affects information by creating phenomena which the adversary will perceive interpret and act upon Military deception physical attack and OPSEC traditionally achieved their ends indirectly 14 For example the goal of deception is to cause the adversary to make incorrect decisions deception does this by creating an apparent reality Generally this entails creating phenomena for the enemy to observer Success however depends on several conditional events the adversary actually observes the phenomenon thereby turning it into data analyzes it into the desired information and acts upon the information in the desired manner Direct information warfare affects information through altering its components without relying on the adversary's powers of perception or interpretation Information attack acts directly upon the adversary's information Since nearly all modem information functions are themselves controlled by information information attack may be directed against most information functions Direct information warfare the point of information attack acts on the adversary's information without relying on the adversary's collection analysis or decision functions It can short circuit the OODA loop 15 through creating observations and skewing orientation or decapitate it by imposing decisions and causing actions A short illustration will serve to demonstrate the difference between indirect and direct information warfare applications Our goal using military deception is to make the adversary think there is a wing of combat aircraft where in fact there is none and act on that information in a manner benefiting our operations Indirect information warfare Using military deception we could construct fake runways and parking areas and generate enough other activities to present a convincing image We rely on the adversary to observe the pseudo combat operation and interpret it as real as opposed to detecting the fake Only then does it become the information we want the adversary to have Direct information warfare Conversely if we use information attack to create the pseudo combat wing in the adversary's store of information the result-deception-is precisely the same But the means to that result never mind the resources time and uncertainty are dramatically different WHAT IS THE OTHER EDGE OF THE INFORMATION WARFARE SWORD The defensive side of information warfaresecurity measures aimed at protecting information-prevents an adversary from conducting successful information warfare against our information functions Current security measures such as OPSEC and COMSEC are typical means of preventing detecting and subverting an adversary's indirect actions on our military information functions In contrast security measures such as COMPUSEC encompass preventing detecting and subverting direct information actions on our information functions Future security measures must evolve as information technology advances Consequently new-measures will likely take forms entirely different from today's security measures rooted as they are in previous security requirements As the simple examples in this paper illustrate we must avoid falling victim to profound debilitating effects of direct information warfare WHY IS INFORMATION WARFARE IMPORTANT TO THE USAF 5of11 4 4 97 6 53 AM CORNERSTONES OF INFORMATION WARFARE http www af mil pubs comer html Two reasons First because information warfare offers important means to accomplish Air Force missions Second because the widespread integration of information systems into Air Force operations makes our military information functions a valuable target set A hypothetical example using information attack shows how information warfare might accomplish a typical Air Force mission Interdiction prevents or delays essential resources from reaching combat units One approach to interdiction is wrecking bridge spans using laser-guided bombs Alternatively we might be able to alter the adversary planners' information falsely categorizing the bridges as destroyed causing the planners to reroute forces and supplies Each means performs interdiction information attack offers the possibility of achieving our goal while consuming fewer resources or without exposing our assets to attack As an example emphasizing the need for robust defenses against information warfare imagine the chaos that would ensue should an adversary manage to penetrate our time-phased force deployment database Subtle changes in it could be sufficient to bring our power projection capabilities to a near standstill HOW SHOULD WE CHANGE AIR FORCE DOCTRINE TO ACCOMMODATE INFORMATION WARFARE Presently Air Force doctrine recognizes air warfare and space warfare However the doctrine doesn't identify separate missions for air warfare or space warfare Instead both cut across all roles and missions Similarly information warfare cannot be pigeonholed as a single mission To do so would fail to completely integrate information warfare into Air Force doctrine Recall that missions are operational tasks performed to achieve military objectives Air warfare is a means defined by the environment to execute those missions There are three objectives of air warfare o control the air while protecting our forces from enemy action o exploit control of the air to employ forces against the enemy and o enhance our overall force effectiveness In our doctrine the objectives of control exploit and enhance translate into the roles of aerospace control force application and force enhancement In many respects one can consider information as a realm just as land sea air and space are realms 16 information has its own characteristics of motion mass and topography just as air space sea and land have their own distinct characteristics 17 There are strong conceptual parallels between conceiving of air and information as realms Before the Wright brothers air while it obviously existed was not a realm suitable for practical widespread military operations Similarly information existed before the Information Age But the Information Age changed the information realm's characteristics so that widespread military operations within it became practical Information warfare like air warfare is the means defined by the environment to execute military missions There are three objectives of information warfare o control the information realm so we can exploit it while protecting our own military information functions from enemy action o exploit control of information to employ information warfare against the enemy and o enhance overall force effectiveness by fully developing military information functions The first objective of information warfare to control the realm so we can exploit it while protecting our 6 of 11 4 4 97 6 53 AM CORNERSTONES OF INFORMATION WARFARE http www af mil pubs corner html The first objective of information warfare to control the realm so we can exploit it while protecting our own military information functions from enemy action contributes significantly to controlling the combat environment Presently Air Force doctrine recognizes two missions to control the combat environment counterair and counterspace Counterair comprises missions whose objectives are control of the air counterspace comprises those missions whose objectives are control of space Clarity and consistency require we term those activities dedicated to controlling information as counter information Counterinformation actions dedicated to controlling the information realm Further counterinformation like counterair and counterspace has both offensive and defensive aspects Offensive counterinformation enables us to use the information realm and impedes the adversary's use of the realm Typical means include physical attack military deception psychological operations electronic warfare and information attack Defensive counterinformation includes both active and passive actions to protect ourselves from the adversary's information warfare actions Defensive counterinformation is accomplished for instance through physical defense physical security hardening OPSEC COMSEC COMPUSEC and counterintelligence Successful aerospace control enables us to use the air and space realms without suffering substantial losses and inflict substantial losses on the enemy's use of those realms Counterinformation working with counterair and counterspace seeks to create such an environment The second objective of information warfare is to exploit our control of information In air warfare's force application role the missions of strategic attack interdiction and close air support exploit air control Similarly information warfare might also be used to achieve the same ends We have already cited an example of how information warfare can perform interdiction It can also perform strategic attack Suppose we want to limit the enemy's long-term mobility by restricting his POL resupply We first identify his refineries as the most suitable target to achieve this goal Through research we further identify the specific refineries comprising most of his production capacity For each refinery we find there is one critical cracking tower We mount a strike and with admirable economy of force put the refineries out of operation by destroying just those towers while leaving everything else untouched This is a classic example of strategic attack Same situation Like all modern refineries these have extensive automated control systems These extensive information functions offer a potential target for information warfare Early in the conflict we performed an offensive counterinformation mission by penetrating and characterizing the refinery's automated control system In the process we uncovered several vulnerable information dependencies giving us the means of affecting the refineries' operations at a time of our choosing Later in the conflict combined with interdiction and ground maneuvers we choose to exploit one of the vulnerabilities We have just disabled their refineries This too is a classic example of strategic attack Information technology is already tightly woven with our military operations providing heretofore unimaginable amounts of information Exploiting this information has provided us striking capabilities relying on it inevitably creates potentially crippling vulnerabilities This coupled with advances in the ability -to both locate and destroy command and control C2 nodes makes C2 more than ever a lucrative target set History has shown successful militaries can achieve striking success through paralyzing the enemy's ability to exercise command and control Airmen have always considered this an important objective and expended much effort against C2 18 For these reasons the efforts to disrupt and destroy the adversary's command and control elements have prompted us to identify a separate mission under force application C2 Attack any action against any element of the enemy's command and control system The third objective of information warfare is to develop information functions to enhance total force effectiveness Previously we described military information functions as supporting the employment of military forces Our current doctrine does not include such a mission To fill that void we will include information operations under force enhancement Some examples of information operations are 7 of 11 4 4 97 6 53 AM CORNERSTONES OF INFORMATION WARFARE http www af mil pubs corner html information operations under force enhancement Some examples of information operations are surveillance reconnaissance command and control communications combat identification intelligence precision navigation and weather The distinguishing characteristic of the information operations mission is that it deals primarily with information as both its resource and product ROLES AND MISSIONS OF AEROSPACE POWER AEROSPACE CONTROL COUNTERATR COUNTERSPACE COUNTERINF ORMATION FORCE APPLICATION STRATEGIC ATTACK INTERDICTION CLOSE AIR SUPPORT C2 ATTACK FORCE ENHANCEMENT AIRLIFT AIR REFUELING SPACELIFT SPECIAL OPERATIONS INFORMATION OPERATIONS FORCE SUPPORT BASEOPS DEF LOGISTICS COMBAT SUPPORT ON-ORBIT SUPPORT Information Operations any action involving the acquisition transmission storage or transformation of information that enhances the employment of military forces Since we require relevant accurate and timely information for everything we do information operations support the conduct of missions across all four roles' from aerospace control to force support Information operations provide commanders the ability to observe the battlespace analyze events and direct forces information operations provide logisticians the ability to know what is in inventory and where it is needed Information operations provide the flight lead the ability to know where the target is its defenses and select the most appropriate weapon In sum information warfare cuts across all Air Force roles and missions It is another means to conduct our traditional missions However there are three additional operational tasks that information warfare enables us to execute which are not suitably addressed by our current doctrine counterinformation C2 Attack and information operations Similarly we elected to delete two missions no longer relevant under regrouped missions electronic combat previously under force enhancement is now subsumed by information warfare surveillance and reconnaissance are now considered instances of information operations However this list is by no means exhaustive As this paper's title conveys the ideas contained herein provide the cornerstones not the entire building Invariably as the Air Force fully accommodates the information technology revolution additional operational tasks may arise which will in turn warrant adding or removing missions To the extent these cornerstones continue to provide a valid litmus test for information warfare all new missions need to meet and pass it WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INFORMATION WARFARE AND COMMAND CONTROL WARFARE The focus of information warfare is any information function whether it is C2 a refinery's control system or a telephone switching station C2 represents only part of the universe of military information functions The Joint Staff defines command and control Command and Control the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assignedforces in the accomplishment of the mission joint Pub 1-021 Command and control warfare C2W only addresses activities directed against the adversary's ability to direct the disposition and employment of forces or those which protect the friendly commander's ability to do so As we have illustrated information warfare not only attacks the C2 process but it also attacks the enemy's combat power itself Conversely by definition C2W is not associated with reducing or 8 of 11 4 4 97 6 53 AM CORNERSTONES OF INFORMATION WARFARE http www af mil pubs corner html the enemy's combat power itself Conversely by definition C2W is not associated with reducing or nullifying the ability or desire of combat units to execute their orders Tactical psychological operations and electronic countermeasures self-protection hinder the ability of units to execute orders But they in no way affect commanders' ability to issue orders to those units nor their ability to receive those orders Although extraordinarily important the JCS's policy of Command and Control Warfare is only a particular application of information warfare For the military to concentrate only on C2W would be ignoring other legitimate target sets Therefore information warfare and its attendant organizing training and equipping issues is essential to fully effective C2W IS INFORMATION WARFARE IMPORTANT ONLY TO THE AIR FORCE We have established that information warfare is important to the Air Force for two reasons First since our military information functions present a valuable target set we must make commensurate defensive efforts Second as the examples in this paper show information warfare is a potential means to achieve typical Air Force ends strategic attack interdiction etc More fundamentally the Air Force already does information warfare through such systems as the EF-111 and Compass Call But in a broader sense information warfare might be a means to conduct any mission the services already conduct - and the services are best positioned to choose the best means for their ends Each service has its own unique operational demands After all the Army is best qualified to decide which means are best suited for pursuing the goals the joint Force Commander apportions to the Army As a result of its service-unique expertise its own OODA loop requirements logistics etc each service has information warfare concerns In developing the doctrinal constructs in this paper we used airpower terminology and examples That is our background those are the terms and the environment with which we are familiar But the argument we present is not dependent on terminology Replacing Air Force terms with Army or Navy terms would leave the conclusions unchanged CONCLUSION The information revolution startlingly fast as it is shows no signs of slowing As the Air Force becomes more technologically sophisticated it becomes more technologically dependent We need to use that technological sophistication to avail ourselves of all the opportunities that information as a target presents We also need to be aware that our technical dependencies represent potentially crippling' vulnerabilities Sophisticated robust multi-layered defenses for our military information functions may well be what separates us from joining the sorry league of military failures Information combined with modern information functions has distinct characteristics that warrant it being considered a realm just as land sea air and space are realms Information warfare does not fill a discrete place in Air Force doctrine just like air warfare information warfare can be part of many AFM 1 -1 missions just as when space warfare was integrated into Air Force doctrine viewing information as a realm now leads us to add several missions Counterinformation controlling the information realm C2 Attack any action against the enemy's command and control system Information Operations any action involving the acquisition transmission storage or transformation of information that enhances the employment of military forces Since World War 1 airmen have had to control the air environment effectively to employ airpower What is more air and space superiority are virtually a sine qua non for employing ground and naval forces Information is the next realm we must control to operate effectively and with the greatest economy of force At the outset we stated the competition for information is as old as man's first conflict It involves increasing and protecting our own store of information while limiting and penetrating the adversary's 9 of 11 4 4 97 6 53 AM CORNERSTONES OF INFORMATION WARFARE http www af mil pubs comer html increasing and protecting our own store of information while limiting and penetrating the adversary's The recent explosion in information technologies is prompting the current discussion in and outside government on the topic of information warfare - targeting the enemy's information functions while protecting ours with the intent of degrading his will or capability to fight For airmen controlling the combat environment is job One With the advances in information technology airmen must pursue information superiority just as they do air and space superiority Only with these realms under our control can we effectively employ all our combat assets Military information functions are essential to our combat operations-they are a tool for achieving the Joint Force Commander's campaign objectives Targeting the enemy's information functions keeps him from achieving his In this paper we have laid out information warfare's doctrinal foundation Our goal is to provide a sound and widely accepted basis from which we can adapt Air Force doctrine to the Information Age The ultimate aim Incorporating information warfare into the way the Air Force organizes trains equips and employs DEFINITIONS C2 Attack Any action against any element of the enemy's command and control system Command and Control The exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assignedforces in the accomplishment of the mission Counterinformation Actions dedicated to controlling the information realm Defensive counterinformation Actions protecting our military information functions from the adversary Direct Information Warfare Changing the adversary's information without involving the intervening perceptive and analytical functions Indirect Information Warfare Changing the adversary's information by creating phenomena that the adversary must then observe and analyze Information Data and instructions Information Attack Directly corrupting information without visibly changing the physical entity within which it resides Information Function Any activity involving the acquisition transmission storage or transformation of information Information Operations Any action involving the acquisition transmission storage or transformation of information that enhances the employment of military forces Information Warfare Any action to deny exploit corrupt or destroy the enemy's information and its functions protecting ourselves against those actions and exploiting our own military information functions Military Information Function Any information function supporting and enhancing the employment of military forces Offensive counterinformation Actions against the adversary's information 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