The Cyber Defense Review: Summer Special Edition on IO/IW
By Colonel Andrew O. Hall, Lieutenant Colonel Robert J. Ross
| July 27, 2020
Welcome to our first themed edition of The Cyber Defense Review (CDR). Our inaugural themed edition is focused on information operations (IO) and information warfare (IW). IO and IW are not new constructs within the history of conflict. However, the exponential adoption and weaponization of social media technologies are rapidly changing the character of modern conflict. Soon digitally networked technologies known as the Internet of Things (IoT) will widely come online and supercharge the precision and reach of social media to enable unprecedented influence of targeted populations. These powerful information technologies are enabling our adversaries to achieve strategic goals and objectives that avoid our military strengths within the spaces short of armed conflict. As evidenced in 21st century conflicts thus far, the ubiquitous and amplifying effects of Information Age technologies are being used by our adversaries in ways that create a symphony of chaos, confusion, and polarization of targeted populations. These capabilities provide militarily inferior adversaries with the ability to achieve information parity at the minimum and information advantage at the maximum. If left unchecked, access to inexpensive and increasingly powerful commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies will continue to provide our adversaries with the means to achieve information advantage in continuously innovative ways at a fraction of the cost of conventional warfare.
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