Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 1996-06 Attacking the infrastructure: exploring potential uses of offensive information warfare Elam, Donald Emmett. Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/32073 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS ATTACKING THE INFRASTRUCTURE: EXPLORING POTENTIAL USES OF OFFENSIVE INFORMATION WARFARE by Donald Emmett Elam June, 1996 Thesis Co-Advisors: Dan Boger Vicente Garcia Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. 19960801 082 l REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average I hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED June 1996 Master's Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE: ATTACKING THE INFRASTRUCTURE: 5. FUNDING NUMBERS EXPLORING POTENTIAL USES OF OFFENSIVE INFORMATION WARFARE 6. AUTHOR(S) Elam, Donald E. 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING Naval Postgraduate School ORGANIZATION Monterey CA 93943-5000 REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY REPORT NUMBER II. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. 12a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) The world has entered the Third Wave; it has entered the Information Age. One of the fundamentals ofthi~ paradigm shift is the fact that information is power. The side that controls information more effectively will be victorious. Thus, countries and militaries must change their mentality in order to survive. A new form of conflict, Information Warfare, has been born. This new discipline is large, dynamic, and complex. The need exists for education among military officers and other concerned professionals throughout the country. This thesis helps to bridge the education gap. It presents a snapshot oflnformation Warfare today, exploring many different avenues and possibilities along the way. The first half of the document is focused on Information Warfare in general, and the second half deals specifically with the offensive side. The purpose of this thesis is not to present an all-encompassing view of Offensive Information War or eve of Information Warfare in general. The field of Information Warfare is too big for any one individual or organization to fully comprehend all of its intricacies. Indeed, due to the dynamic nature of this discipline, chances are that some, or maybe even all, of the material contained herein will be obsolescent upon publication The goal of the thesis is to present one view of Information Warfare, as seen through the eyes of many. The hope is that some benefit will be garnered by the reader, even if it only sparks an idea or helps to understand th( importance of this growing warfare dimension. 14. SUBJECT TERMS Information Warfare, Information, Warfare, Infrastructure, 15. NUMBER OF Offensive, Third Wave PAGES216 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY CLASSIFI- 18. SECURITY CLASSIFI- 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICA- 20. LIMITATION OF CATION OF REPORT CATION OF THIS PAGE TION OF ABSTRACT ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UL NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 298-102 i ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. ATTACKING THE INFRASTRUCTURE: EXPLORING POTENTIAL USES OF OFFENSIVE INFORMATION WARFARE Donald E. Elam Lieutenant, United States Navy B.S., United States Naval Academy, 1990 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY [COMMAND, CONTROL, AND COMMUNICATIONS (C3)] from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL June 1996 Author: Donald E. Elam Approved by: Vicente Garcia, Thesis Co-Advisor Command, Control, and Communications Academic Group iii iv ABSTRACT The world has entered the Third Wave; it has entered the Information Age. One of the fundamentals of this paradigm shift is the fact that information is power. The side that controls information most effectively will be victorious. Thus, countries and militaries must change their mentality in order to survive. A new form of conflict, Information Warfare, has been born. This new discipline is large,. dynamic, and complex. The need exists for education among military officers and other concerned professionals throughout the country. This thesis helps to bridge the education gap. It presents a snapshot of Information Warfare today, exploring many different avenues and possibilities along the way. The first half of the document is focused on Information Warfare in general, and the second half deals specifically with the offensive side. The purpose ofthis thesis is not to present an all-encompassing view of Offensive Information War or even of Information Warfare in general. The field of Information Warfare is too big for any one individual or organization to fully comprehend all of its intricacies. Indeed, due to the dynamic nature of this discipline, chances are that some, or maybe even all, of the material contained herein will be obsolescent upon publication. The goal of the thesis is to present one view of Information Warfare, as seen through the eyes of many. The hope is that some benefit will be garnered by the reader, even if it only sparks an idea or helps to understand the importance of this growing warfare dimension. v vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................... 1 A. THE CHANGING FACE OF WARFARE ................................. 1 B. THE CHANGING PARADIGM ......................................... 3 1. The Future of Warfare ............................................ 3 2. The Third Wave ................................................ 5 C. WARFARE THEORY ................................................. 6 1. Traditional Views of Warfare ...................................... 6 2. Role of Technology in Warfare .................................... 7 3. Importance of the Cultural Dimension ............................... 8 4. Center of Gravity ............................................... 8 D. THE IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION WARFARE ...................... 9 E. FRAMEWORK FOR INFORMATION WARFARE AS A WEAPON ........... 9 II. DEFINING INFORMATION WARFARE ...................................... 13 A. WHAT IS INFORMATION WARFARE? ................................ 13 B. TYPES OF INFORMATION WARFARE ................................ 14 1. Selected examples of different views ............. : . 14 a. National Level Decision Makers ............................. 15 b. Department of Defense .................................... 15 c. Academic Experts ........................................ 18 d. The Experts . 19 e. Miscellaneous Entities .................................... 21 2. Information Warfare versus Command and Control Warfare ............. 22 C. A CONSOLIDATED VIEW ........................................... 23 1. Coming To Grips With A Definition ............................... 23 2. A Possible Answer: Paradigm F ................................... 25 D. THE BOTTOM LINE ................................................ 33 III. INFORMATION WARFARE ORGANIZATIONS .............................. 35 A. INFORMATION WARFARE PLAYERS ................................ 35 Vll 1. International Level .......................................· ...... 37 2. National Level ................................................. 37 a. Public .................................................. 37 (1) Academia ........................................ 38 (2) Media ........................................... 38 b. Private ................................................. 39 (I) Industry ......................................... 39 (2) Subversive Elements ............................... 39 3. Federal Government ............................................ 40 a. Executive Branch ........................................ 40 b. Department of Defense .................................... 41 (I) Office ofthe Secretary ............................. 42 (2) Joint Chiefs of Staff ................................ 42 (3) Department of the Army ............................ 43 (4) Department of the Navy ............................ 44 ( 5) Department of Air Force ............................ 46 ( 6) Other Organizations ............................... 4 7 c. Legislative/Judicial ....................................... 49 d. Independent Establishments and Government .................. 49 4. State and Local Governments ..................................... 50 B. THE INFORMATION WARP ARE FIELD ............................... 50 IV. INFORMATION WARFARE AND TECHNOLOGY ............................ 53