Redefining Information Warfare Boundaries for an Army in a Wireless World

As the Army observed in the 2010 cyberspace operations concept capability
plan, society’s dependence on the wireless and wired mediums is
converging. Computer and telecommunication networks are becoming
one and the same. And the transmission of digitized packets on
Internet-protocol and space-based networks is rapidly supplanting the
use of old technology (e.g., dedicated analog channels) when it comes
to information sharing and media broadcasting.
This monograph identifies the implications of these trends and
reconsiders the resulting boundaries of Army cyber operations, at least
from a practical standpoint. It focuses on the general and overlapping
areas of network operations, information operations, and the more
focused areas of electronic warfare, signals intelligence, electromagnetic
spectrum operations, public affairs, and military information
support operations (formerly psychological operations). Most importantly,
it compares the emerging doctrine of cyber operations to all of
the aforementioned areas. The intent is to make clear the prevailing
boundaries between the areas of interest and the expected progression
of these boundaries in the near future. It constructs some new definitions
that encapsulate these areas, such as information warfare. This
is important because the Army is now studying ways to best apply its
cyber power and reconsider doctrinally defined areas that are integral
to cyberspace.