Security implications for a wired India: Challenges ahead
Abstract India has earned a significant place in the global Information Technology (IT) industry and aspires to be an IT superpower in the future. With an expanding IT infrastructure, the nation is getting ‘wired’ to the ‘global village’ at a rapid pace. Ironically, the technology that empowers us also exposes us to new threats. These threats do not recognise borders and impinge on nearly every cross‐section of our society. The article covers the security implications for a ‘Wired India’ under the military, political, economic and social dimensions. While information security as a concept is gaining ground, a more holistic and integrated approach is imperative for bridging the gaps and warding off the threats successfully.
Information Operations and the Conduct of Land Warfare
This article is reprinted with permission of the Association of the US Army (AUSA). This article was originally published be, AUSA 's Institute of Land Warfare (ILW) as Land Warfare Paper No. 31, October 1998, and ias presented bS the alrthor at an crn education forr, frumi dlrr-iz,ng AUSA 's Annual Meeting. Information requests should be directed to James D. Blundell. Director of Programs, at (800) 336-4570 or (703) 841-4300, erte7?sion 631. AUSA and ILW publications are available on the AUSA web page at: . The ILW's purpose is to extend A USA 's educational) work by sponsoring scholarly publications, to include books, monographs and essays on key defense issues, as well as workshops and simposia. A work selected for publication as an ILW Paper represents research by the author which in the opinion of the editorial board, will contribute to a better understanding of a particular defense or national security issue. Publication as an ILW Paper does not indicate that AUSA agrees with evething in the paper, but does suggest that the Association believes the paper will stimulate AUSA members thinking and others concerned about important defense issues. Foreword Information operations (IO) represent a core Army XXI capability. They will allow for unprecedented battlespace awareness, increased speed and tempo in land warfare and, ultimately. for Army information superiority. These expectations must be tempered with the knowledge that they represent the institutional Army view of IO. Other views exist which challenge current Army warfighting assumptions. The central argument developed in this article concerns whether IO will be an adjunct to current operational methods-a force multiplier--or a totally new operational mechanism which will provide warfighting capabilities which heretofore did not exist. Both schools of thought are analyzed along with a discussion of IO definitions and target sets and IO's land warfare implications. This article s value is derived from its ability to generate debate on an issue of central importance to the Anny. As the victors of the Cold and Gulf Wars, our approach to IO is inherently more conservative than that of many of our future opponents. some of whom will rely upon cyberterrorism and other asymmetric attempts to overcome our battlefield advantages. Thus, while IO will allow us to greatly advance our traditional warfighting capabilities, we must recognize that they may open up new warfighting venues which will need to be explored and debated to ensure that the Army retains its battlefield dominance into the early 21st century. -General Gordon R. Sullivan, US Army, Retired, AUSA President, October 1998 THIS ARTICLE FOCUSES on the implications of IO on the US Army's conduct of land warfare over the next decade.1 This transitional period from the experimental Force XXI to the digitized Army XXI-offers many promises, potentials and even pitfalls for the world's predominant land power force. Army Brigadier General James M. Dubik has recognized this in an earlier ILW paper "Creating Combat Power for the 21 st Century."2 The term "information operations" conjures up many images. To some the vision of Robert A. Heinlein's classic Starship Troopers comes to mind with its "mobile infantry" forces in hightech body armor.3 Armed with vast amounts of individual firepower and linked into information nets, these soldiers provide one future Army force archetype. Another vision is at odds with the high-tech warrior tradition. It is that of out-of-- shape armchair soldiers sitting behind their computer terminals launching war-winning cyber-attacks at the stroke of a key. A third vision is derived from the cyber-punk genre. It is that of a "Johnny Mnemonic-type" individual, with hard-wires in his brain and enough downloaded information to make a modern supercomputer look like a kid's cheap toy.4 Such enhanced individuals would give a whole new meaning to the concept of "special forces. …
Enabling next generation airborne communications [Guest Editorial]
Due to the increased needs for sharing information among airborne platforms (both manned and unmanned) as well as the desire to use an airborne infrastructure to rapidly deploy communications capabilities to ground-based users in disaster areas, there has been a renewed interest in the research, design, and development of airborne communications networks. Airborne networks are mobile networks characterized by their high aircraft speeds and platform dynamics, long line-of-sight transmission ranges, and significant cost of integration for communication systems. This Feature Topic, Enabling Next Generation Airborne Communications, considers several types of airborne communications systems including air traffic management (ATM) systems, networks of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and military airborne tactical networks.