On Cyber-Enabled Information Warfare and Information Operations

From the standpoint of traditional military conict, the United States is unmatched by any other nation. Other nations have taken note of US conventional military prowess and sought other ‘asymmetric’ methods for confronting the US and other Western nations—that is, they seek to confront the US and other Western nations by targeting their weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Cyber warfare is one asymmetric counter to Western (and especially US) military advantages that depend on the use of cyberspace (Lynn 2010). 

‘Cyber warfare’ spans a broad spectrum. At the high end, cyber conflict threatens critical national infrastructure (e.g. information technology (IT) systems that are vital to society or national interests, such as the computers controlling the electric grid or air traffic control systems; undetected alteration of financial data held by major financial institutions; and computerized weapons systems unable to hit their targets because they have lost their ability to access GPS).

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