GLOSSARY:

The Convoluted Terminology of Information Warfare

Compiled by Randall Whitaker, Ph.D.

KEYWORDS:

communications security, computer security, COMSEC, COMPSEC, COMPUSEC, cyberspace, cyberwar, cyberwarfare, electronic warfare, EW, hackers, hyperwar, information assurance, information dominance, information operations, information ops, information revolution, information security, INFOSEC, information superiority, information warfare, IW, IW-D, Military Technical Revolution (MTR), netwar, network centric warfare, Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA), third wave war (-fare), warfare

Copyright © 1998 Randall Whitaker
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Except as follows....

This documentation may be freely copied for personal use, distributed, cited, etc., so long as author attribution is included. Inclusion of this document in any persistent product (e.g., rehosting / reposting on WWW) without author permission is expressly prohibited.

Listing Date = 24 May 1998

This glossary contains a summary collection of some of the terminology encountered in the IW literature. For IW-specific terminology, the criteria for inclusion in this listing include (1) opacity to the lay audience and/or (2) crucial usage in military IW discussions. In addition, I've included canonical definitions for more generic military terms as they are currently defined by the U.S. Department of Defense.

NOTE:

Literature citations refer to materials listed in the IW Bibliography at this site.

[ OTHER RELEVANT GLOSSARY / LEXICON RESOURCES ]

ornament

2600

A 'hacker' organization whose main product is 2600 magazine. This publication has (at times) been considered the premier hacker print product.

8lgm

8 Little Green Men 'hacker' group that compiles and distributes security tips.

abuse of privilege

Formal nomenclature for user action(s) not in accordance with organizational policy or law. Actions falling outside, or explicitly proscribed by, acceptable use policy.

acceptable level of risk

A judicious and carefully considered assessment by the appropriate authority that a computing activity or network meets the minimum requirements of applicable security directives. The assessment should take into account the value of assets; threats and vulnerabilities; countermeasures and operational requirements.

acceptable use policy

DoD nomenclature for documented standards and/or guidance on usage of information systems and networked assets.

Acronym = 'AUP'

accountability

The principle that individuals using a facility or a computer system must be identifiable. With accountability, violations or attempted violations of system security can be traced to individuals who can then be held responsible.

accuracy

DoD parlance for the notion that information has been maintained and transferred in such a way as to be inviolate -- i.e., the information has been protected from being modified or otherwise corrupted either maliciously or accidentally. Accuracy protects against forgery or tampering. Typically invoked as a synonym for integrity.

acme of skill

Taken from Sun Tzu's The Art of War:"...to subdue an adversary without killing him." (Griffith translation, 1963)

active attack

A form of attack in which data is actually modified, corrupted, or destroyed.

anomaly detection

A label for the class of intrusion detection tactics which seek to identify potential intrusion attempts by virtue of their being (presumably) sufficiently deviant (i.e., 'anomalous') in comparison with expected / authorized activities. Phrased another way, anomaly detection begins with a positive model of expected system operations and flags potential intrusions on the basis of their deviation (as particular events or actions) from this presumed norm. Cf. misuse detection.

"Anomaly detection techniques assume that all intrusive activities are necessarily anomalous. This means that if we could establish a "normal activity profile" and maintain a "current activity profile" for a system, we could, in theory, flag all system states varying from the established profile by statistically significant amounts as intrusion attempts."
(Aurobindo Sundaram, An Introduction to Intrusion Detection)

application gateway

One form of a firewall in which valid application-level data must be checked / confirmed before allowing a connection. In the case of an ftp connection the application gateway appears as a ftp server to the client and as a ftp client to the server.

ASIM (Automated Security Incident Measurement)

Current DoD automated security tool that monitors network traffic, collects information on targeted unit networks, and detects unauthorized network activity.

assurance

A measure of confidence that the security features and architecture of an information system / network accurately reflect and enforce the given security policy.

asynchronous attacks

Attacks that take advantage of dynamic system actions -- especially by exploiting an ability to manipulate the timing of those actions.

attack

With specific regard to IW: "...a specific formulation or execution of a plan to carry out a threat." (J.P. Anderson Co., Computer Security Threat Monitoring and Surveillance. Technical report, Fort Washington PA, April 1980.)
"An attempt to bypass security controls on a computer. An active attack alters data. A passive attack releases data. Whether an attack will succeed depends on the vulnerability of the computer system and the effectiveness of existing countermeasures." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

attitudes

"...positively or negatively learned orientations toward something or someone that have a tendency to motivate an individual or group toward some behavior. Experienced soldiers, for example, have negative attitudes toward slovenliness." (US Army Field Manual 33-1 'Psychological Operations')

audit trail

"In computer security systems, a chronological record of when users log in, how long they are engaged in various activities, what they were doing, whether any actual or attempted security violations occurred. An automated or manual set of chronological records of system activities that may enable the reconstruction and examination of a sequence of events and/or changes in an event." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

AUP

Acronym for acceptable use policy.

authentication

Positive procedural verification of the identity of a user, device, or other entity in a computer system, often as a prerequisite to allowing access to resources in a system.
This term also connotes verifying the integrity of data that have been stored, transmitted, or otherwise exposed to possible unauthorized modification.

authorization

"The process of determining what types of activities are permitted. Usually, authorization is in the context of authentication. Once you have authenticated a user, the user may be authorized different types of access or activity." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

availability (of information)

"Availability refers to ensuring the ability of a system to keep working efficiently and keep information accessible." (GAO, Information Security: Computer Attacks at Department of Defense Pose Increasing Risks, Report GAO/AIMD-96-84, 1996)
"Computer hardware and software system working efficiently and the system is able to recover quickly and completely if a disaster occurs. The principle that ensures that computer systems and data are working and available to users. Denial of service is an attack on availability." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

back door

"A hole in the security of a computer system deliberately left in place by designers or maintainers. Synonymous with trap door; A hidden software or hardware mechanism used to circumvent security controls. A breach created intentionally for the purpose of collecting, altering or destroying data." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

Cf. trap door

Basic PSYOP Study (BPS)

"...a detailed background document which describes the PSYOP relevant vulnerabilities, characteristics, insights, and opportunities that are known about a specific country susceptible to exploitation." (US Army Field Manual 33-1 'Psychological Operations')

battlefield visualization

"the process whereby the commander develops a clear understanding of the current state with relation to the enemy and environment, envisions a desired end state that represents mission accomplishment, and then subsequently visualizes the sequence of activity that moves the commander's force from its current state to the end state." (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)

battlespace

The field of military operations circumscribed by the aggregate of all spatial (e.g., geographic range, altitude) and virtual (e.g., communicational connectivity) dimensions in which those operations are realized.
A generic term connoting no limitation to the geographical constraints suggested by the term 'battlefield'.
"components determined by the maximum capabilities of friendly and enemy forces to acquire and dominate each other by fires and maneuver and in the electromagnetic spectrum." (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)

between-the-lines-entry

"Access that an unauthorized user gets, typically by tapping the terminal that is inactive at the time, of a legitimate user." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

BLOB

"Binary Large Object, used to describe any random large block of bits, usually a picture or sound file; can be stored in a database but normally not interpretable by a database program. Can be used as a mild hacker threat (mailbomb) when mailed. Can also be used to hide malicious logic code." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

blue box devices

Gadgets created by crackers and phone hackers ("phreakers") to break into the telephone system and make calls bypassing normal controls and/or billing procedures.

BMC4I

Battle(-space) Management Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence. Briefly stated, the overall label for those components and processes comprising the 'nervous system' of a modern military force in a theater of operations.
"...the planning, tasking, and control of the execution of missions through an architecture of sensors, communications, automation, and intelligence support." (Wetzel and Kowall, 1994, p. 2)

breach

"The successful defeat of security controls which could result in a penetration of the system. A violation of controls of a particular information system such that information assets or system components are unduly exposed." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

C2

Acronym for command and control.

C2 attack

Sometimes written "C2-attack". Abbreviation for command and control-attack .

"Any action against any element of the enemy's command and control system." (Widnall & Fogleman, 1995)
See command and control warfare; command and control-attack

C2 protect

Abbreviation for command and control protect.

C2 Counterwar

Presumed synonym for Command and Control Counterwar (cf. Jensen, 1994, p. 35).

C2 protect

See command and control warfare

C2W

"Acronym for ...command and control warfare..." (Stein, 1995, p. 31).
This term is not synonymous with information warfare / IW (cf. Szafranski, 1995).

C3

Acronym for Command, Control and Communications.

C3I

Acronym for Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence.

C4I

Acronym for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence.

C4ISR

Acronym for Command, Control, Communications, Computer Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance.

As of 1998, this acronym is becoming the preferred label for those functional and operational capabilities previously subsumed under CXI (X = (1, 2, ...)). The probable rationale is that this label explicitly insinuates incorporation / inclusion of the intel / recon aspects of the own-force information grid.

center of gravity

A term commonly encountered which connotes a component or feature of a given system (e.g., an adversary's deployed instrumentality) which is critical to either (a) the viability of that given system and/or (b) the viability of the supersystem within which that given system is a participating component.

"The hub of all power and movement upon which everything depends. That characteristic, capability, or location from which enemy and friendly forces derive their freedom of action, physical strength, or the will to fight." (U.S. Army Field Manual FM 34-1: Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Operations, 1994)

CERT

Acronym for Computer Emergency Response Team.
"Supports others in enhancing the security of their computing systems; develops standardized set of responses to security problems; provides a central point of contact for information about security incidents; assists in collecting and disseminating information on issues related to computer security, including information on configuration, management and bug fixes for systems." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

CIP

Acronym for critical infrastructure protection.

Class I (information warfare)

Personal information warfare. That area of IW concerned with personal privacy issues. This is one of 3 IW classes delineated by Winn Schwartau.

Class II (information warfare)

Corporate / organizational-level information warfare. That area of IW concerned with espionage issues. This is one of 3 IW classes delineated by Winn Schwartau.

Class III (information warfare)

Information warfare viewed with an open / global scope. That area of IW concerned with cyber-terrorism issues. This is one of 3 IW classes delineated by Winn Schwartau.

combat information

"Unevaluated data, gathered by or provided directly to the tactical commander which, due to its highly perishable nature or the criticality of the situation, cannot be processed into tactical intelligence in time to satisfy the user's tactical intelligence requirements. See also information." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

combat intelligence

"That knowledge of the enemy, weather, and geographical features required by a commander in the planning and conduct of combat operations." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

COMINT

Acronym for communications intelligence.

command

The authority that a commander in the Armed Forces lawfully exercises over subordinates by virtue of rank or assignment. Command includes the authority and responsibility for effectively using available resources and for planning the employment of, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling military forces for the accomplishment of assigned missions. It also includes responsibility for health, welfare, morale, and discipline of assigned personnel.
An order given by a commander; that is, the will of the commander expressed for the purpose of bringing about a particular action.
A unit or units, an organization, or an area under the command of one individual.
(DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

command and control

"The exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assigned forces in the accomplishment of the mission." (Widnall & Fogleman, 1995)
"The exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of the mission. Command and control functions are performed through an arrangement of personnel, equipment, communications, facilities, and procedures employed by a commander in planning, directing, coordinating, and controlling forces and operations in the accomplishment of the mission. Also called C2." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

command and control-attack

"the synchronized execution of actions taken to accomplish established objectives that prevent effective C2 of adversarial forces by denying information to, by influencing, by degrading, or by destroying the adversary C2 system." (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)

Abbreviation = C2-attack.

command and control counterwar

Apparently a synonym for IW / knowledge war / third-wave war (cf. Jensen, 1994, p. 35). This would be distinct from C2W (Command and Control Warfare), according to Szafranski (1995), who considers C2W and IW to be entirely distinct concepts.

command and control-protect

"the maintenance of effective C2 of own forces by turning to friendly advantage or negating adversary efforts to deny information to, to influence, to degrade, or to destroy the friendly C2 system; C2-protect can be offensive or defensive in nature; offensive C2-protect uses the five elements of C2W to reduce the adversary's ability to conduct C2-attack; defensive C2-protect reduces friendly C2 vulnerabilities to adversary C2-attack by employment of adequate physical, electronic, and intelligence protection." (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)

Abbreviation = C2-protect.

command and control system

The facilities, equipment, communications, procedures, and personnel essential to a commander for planning, directing, and controlling operations of assigned forces pursuant to the missions assigned. (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

command and control warfare (Acronym = C2W)

"The integrated use of operations security, military deception, psychological operations, electronic warfare, and physical destruction, mutually supported by intelligence, to deny information to, influence, degrade, or destroy adversary command and control capabilities, while protecting friendly command and control capabilities against such actions. Command and control warfare is an application of information warfare in military operations and is a subset of information warfare. Command and control warfare applies across the range of military operations and all levels of conflict. Also called C2W.
C2W is both offensive and defensive:

a. C2-attack. Prevent effective C2 of adversary forces by denying information to, influencing, degrading, or destroying the adversary C2 system.
b. C2-protect. Maintain effective command and control of own forces by turning to friendly advantage or negating adversary efforts to deny information to, influence, degrade, or destroy the friendly C2 system."

(DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)
Has as its aim "...to use physical and radio-electronic combat attacks against enemy information systems to separate enemy forces from enemy leadership." (Szafranski, 1995, p. 65, footnote 1).
The term replacing the earlier command, control and communications countermeasures (cf. Campen, 1995, p. 68)

command, control and communications countermeasures

The phrase replaced by the term command and control warfare (cf. Campen, 1995, p. 68).

common battlespace picture (CBP)

Also: Common battlespace display, common battlespace view

A conceptual term for a shared information asset providing all actors in a theater SOS with a mutually accessible reference point on the status and dynamics of their operations.

communication

"...the process of standardizing and exchanging intelligence perceptions and meanings found in the form of value statements, ideas, sentiments, beliefs, etc., using words, symbols, or actions." (US Army Field Manual 33-1 'Psychological Operations')

communications intelligence

"Technical and intelligence information derived from foreign communications by other than the intended recipients." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

Acronym = COMINT.

communications security

"The protection resulting from all measures designed to deny unauthorized persons information of value which might be derived from the possession and study of telecommunications, or to mislead unauthorized persons in their interpretation of the results of such possession and study. Also called COMSEC. Communications security includes: ...

cryptosecurity--The component of communications security that results from the provision of technically sound cryptosystems and their proper use.
transmission security--The component of communications security that results from all measures designed to protect transmissions from interception and exploitation by means other than cryptanalysis.
emission security--The component of communications security that results from all measures taken to deny unauthorized persons information of value that might be derived from intercept and analysis of compromising emanations from crypto-equipment and telecommunications systems.
physical security--The component of communications security that results from all physical measures necessary to safeguard classified equipment, material, and documents from access thereto or observation thereof by unauthorized persons."

(Adapted from DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

complete message

"The complete message is the propaganda message (word) and action (deed) to persuade the individual or group to change or strengthen their opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior; the words and deeds are mutually supportive. The deed plus the word equals the message." (US Army Field Manual 33-1 'Psychological Operations')

computer abuse

"The willful or negligent unauthorized activity that affects the availability, confidentiality, or integrity of computer resources. Computer abuse includes fraud, embezzlement, theft, malicious damage, unauthorized use, denial of service, and misappropriation." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

computer fraud

Crimes involving deliberate misrepresentation or alteration of data in order to obtain something of value, perpetrated via or with regard to computers and/or information networks.

computer security

Acronym = COMPSEC and sometimes COMPUSEC.

"The protection resulting from all measures to deny unauthorized access and exploitation of friendly computer systems. Also called COMPUSEC. See also communications security." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)
Also (and more commonly....) the task or mission of achieving this state of protection.
"involves the measures and controls that ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the information processed and stored by a computer; these include policies, procedures, and the hardware and software tools necessary to protect the computer systems and the information processed, stored, and transmitted by the systems." (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)

COMPSEC / COMPUSEC

Acronyms for computer security.

COMSEC

Acronym for communications security.

concealment

The protection from observation or surveillance. (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

confidentiality (of information)

"Confidentiality refers to keeping information from being disclosed to unauthorized parties, i.e., protecting its secrecy." (GAO, Information Security: Computer Attacks at Department of Defense Pose Increasing Risks, Report GAO/AIMD-96-84, 1996)
"Confidentiality - The principle that keeps information from being disclosed to anyone not authorized to access it. Synonymous with secrecy." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

control

Authority which may be less than full command exercised by a commander over part of the activities of subordinate or other organizations.
In mapping, charting, and photogrammetry, a collective term for a system of marks or objects on the Earth or on a map or a photograph, whose positions or elevations, or both, have been or will be determined.
Physical or psychological pressures exerted with the intent to assure that an agent or group will respond as directed.
An indicator governing the distribution and use of documents, information, or material. Such indicators are the subject of intelligence community agreement and are specifically defined in appropriate regulations.

(DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

counterdeception

Efforts to negate, neutralize, diminish the effects of, or gain advantage from, a foreign deception operation. Counterdeception does not include the intelligence function of identifying foreign deception operations. (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

counterinformation

"Actions dedicated to controlling the information realm." (Widnall & Fogleman, 1995) Also spelled counter-information (cf. Gen. Joe Ralston, quoted in Arana-Barradas, 1995)

counterintelligence

"Information gathered and activities conducted to protect against espionage, other intelligence activities, sabotage, or assassinations conducted by or on behalf of foreign governments or elements thereof, foreign organizations, or foreign persons, or international terrorist activities. Also called CI." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

countermeasures

"Action, device, procedure, technique, or other measure that reduces the vulnerability of an automated information system. Countermeasures that are aimed at specific threats and vulnerabilities involve more active techniques as well as activities traditionally perceived as security." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

covert operations

"Operations which are so planned and executed as to conceal the identity of or permit plausible denial by the sponsor. They differ from clandestine operations in that emphasis is placed on concealment of identity of sponsor rather than on concealment of the operation." (Joint Chiefs of Staff publication JCS1, 1987)

cracker

A label for someone who attempts to 'break into' a computer system.
More specifically, as contrasted with criminals and vandals in a tripartite taxonomy of cyberspace intruders, this term is used by Icove, Seger & von Storch (1995) to denote anyone whose goal is simply to access a computer system without or regardless of manipulative / destructive intent.
"One who breaks security on a system. A person who engages in computer and telecommunications intrusion." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

criminal

As contrasted with crackers and vandals in a tripartite taxonomy of cyberspace intruders, this term is used by Icove, Seger & von Storch (1995) to denote anyone whose goal is to obtain some form of gain (e.g., profit) by their 'hacking' into computer systems.

critical information

Specific facts about friendly intentions, capabilities, and activities vitally needed by adversaries for them to plan and act effectively so as to guarantee failure or unacceptable consequences for friendly mission accomplishment. (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

critical infrastructure protection

A general label for measures taken to ensure own-system infrastructure (physical, informational, etc.) is maintained in such a way as to minimize vulnerability to exogenous corruption, disruption, and/or destruction.

Acronym = CIP

critical intelligence

Intelligence which is crucial and requires the immediate attention of the commander. It is required to enable the commander to make decisions that will provide a timely and appropriate response to actions by the potential/actual enemy. It includes but is not limited to the following:

strong indications of the imminent outbreak of hostilities of any type (warning of attack);
aggression of any nature against a friendly country;
indications or use of nuclear-biological-chemical weapons (targets); and
significant events within potential enemy countries that may lead to modification of nuclear strike plans."

(DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

cyber medium

Apparently a synonym for cyberspace
The realm of information activities and entities (Defense Issues 10:18).

cyberocracy

A term, not yet clearly defined, which is sometimes invoked to connote a manner of government or politics in which information and the global information networks are the dominant source of empowerment.

"This term, from the roots "cyber-" and "-cracy," signifies rule by way of information. As it develops, information and its control will become a dominant source of power, as a natural next step in man's political evolution. In the past, under aristocracy, the high-born ruled; under theocracy, the high priests ruled. In modern times, democracy and bureaucracy have enabled new kinds of people to participate in government. In turn, cyberocracy, by arising from the current revolution in information and communications technologies, may slowly but radically affect who rules, how, and why."
(Ronfeldt, 1992 [revised version of 1991])

cyberspace

Metaphorically, the realm of information activities and entities resident, so to speak, in data networks and accessible via computers.
"...the global world of internetted computers and communication systems" (RAND, 1995d).
"The notional environment within which electronic communications occurs. The space of virtual reality." (Campen, 1995, p. 68)
"A term used to refer to the entire collection of sites that can be accessed electronically. Information-space of a computer system, or system of networks. The metaphoric location of the mind of a person in hack or cracking mode." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)
The term was coined by the science fiction author William Gibson (1984). This is the layman's term to which a variety of IW authors refer using labels such as: cyber medium, infosphere, datasphere, virtual realm, and virtual battlespace.

cyberwar

A RAND Corporation synonym for information warfare (Grier, 1995, p. 37)
In contrast, the term is also used as a synonym for netwar -- a superset of IW (cf. Szafranski, 1995, p. 58).
Libicki (1995) calls cyberwar "combat in the virtual realm."
Arquilla and Ronfeldt (1993) use 'cyberwar' to designate 'knowledge-related conflict at the military level' and limit their application of the term to IW strategies "...of the sort that might be used against insurgents by a high-technology opponent..." (cited in Morton (1995)). For these authors, cyberwar is contrasted with netwar (taken in the sense of non-military information warfare).
A synonym for automated warfare: "...in which robots do much of the killing and destroying without direct instructions from human operators. The weapons would be 'autonomous' ..." (Arnett, 1992, p. 15)

data

"Representation of facts, concepts, or instructions in a formalized manner suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing by humans or by automatic means. Any representations such as characters or analog quantities to which meaning is or might be assigned." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)
"A representation of facts, concepts, or instructions suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing by humans or computers." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

data driven attack

"A form of attack that is encoded in innocuous seeming data which is executed by a users or other software to implement an attack. In the case of firewalls, a data driven attack is a concern since it may get through the firewall in data form and launch an attack against a system behind the firewall." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

datum

"Any numerical or geometrical quantity or set of such quantities which may serve as reference or base for other quantities. Where the concept is geometric, the plural form is "datums" in contrast to the normal plural 'data.' " (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

DBA

acronym for dominant battlespace awareness.

DBK

acronym for dominant battlespace knowledge.

deception

"Those measures designed to mislead the enemy by manipulation, distortion, or falsification of evidence to induce him to react in a manner prejudicial to his interests." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

decision

"In an estimate of the situation, a clear and concise statement of the line of action intended to be followed by the commander as the one most favorable to the successful accomplishment of the mission." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

defense information infrastructure

Acronym = DII.

A label for the composite information assets of DoD (the American defense establishment).

"the shared or interconnected system of computers, communications, data, applications, security, people, training, and other support structures serving DOD's location and worldwide information needs; the DII connects DOD mission support, command and control, and intelligence computers and users through voice, data, imagery, video, and multimedia services and provides information processing and value-added services to subscribers of the [Defense Information Systems Network." (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)
"As a result of the rapid growth in computer technology, the Department of Defense, like the rest of government and the private sector, has become extremely dependent on automated information systems. These systems have also become increasingly interconnected worldwide to form virtual communities in cyberspace. The Department calls its portion of this global community the Defense information infrastructure. ... The Defense information infrastructure consists of communications networks, computers, software, databases, applications, and other capabilities that meets the information processing, storage, and communications needs of Defense users in peace and wartime." (GAO, Information Security: Computer Attacks at Department of Defense Pose Increasing Risks, Report GAO/AIMD-96-84, 1996)

defensive counterinformation

"Actions protecting our military information functions from the adversary." (Widnall & Fogleman, 1995)

degradation of service

Any reduction (with respect to norms or expectations) in service processes' reaction / response time, quantitative throughput, or quality parameters. This term is often used to denote the general set of service(s) impairment(s) which at the extreme (i.e., total degradation to a 'zero state' with respect to the given parameter(s)) constitutes an absolute denial of service.

Note that (owing to operational constraints such as 'time before timing out' settings) a disruptive tactic capable of only degrading service(s) may result in a complete denial of said service(s) from the perspective of the end user(s).

Cf. denial of service

denial of service

"Action(s) which prevent any part of an AIS from functioning in accordance with its intended purpose." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

Denial of service attacks may include denying services or processes limited to one host machine. However, the term is most often invoked to connote action against a single host (or set of hosts) which results in the target's inability to perform service(s) for other users -- particularly over a network.

One may consider denial of service to be the extreme case of degradation of service in which one or more normal functional parameters (e.g., response, throughput) get 'zeroed out', at least as far as the end user is concerned.

It is important to note that 'denial' is delineated with respect to whether or not the normal end user(s) can exploit the system or network as expected. Seen in this light, 'denial' (like 'degradation') is descriptive of a functional outcome, and it is not therefore definitive with respect to cause(s) (i.e., tactics effecting said result). Forms of attack not geared to 'denial' per se may lead to 'denial' as a corollary effect (e.g., when a system administrator's actions in response to an intrusion attempt lead to a service outage). As such, 'denial of service' is not a good criterion for categorizing attack tactics.

Cf. degradation of service

denial time

"The average length of time that an affected asset is denied to the organization." (AFCERT Computer Glossary) The temporal extent of operational malaise induced by a denial of service attack.

DII

Acronym for defense information infrastructure.

direct information warfare

"Changing the adversary's information without involving the intervening perceptive and analytical functions." (Widnall & Fogleman, 1995)

directed-energy protective measures

"That division of directed-energy warfare involving actions taken to protect friendly equipment, facilities, and personnel to ensure friendly effective uses of the electromagnetic spectrum that are threatened by hostile directed-energy weapons and devices." (Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms)

directed-energy warfare

"Military action involving the use of directed-energy weapons, devices, and countermeasures to either cause direct damage or destruction of enemy equipment, facilities, and personnel, or to determine, exploit, reduce, or prevent hostile use of the electromagnetic spectrum through damage, destruction, and disruption. It also includes actions taken to protect friendly equipment, facilities, and personnel and retain friendly use of the electromagnetic spectrum. Also called DEW." (Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms)

directed-energy weapon

"A system using directed energy primarily as a direct means to damage or destroy enemy equipment, facilities, and personnel." (Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms)

DNS spoofing

A form of spoofing which exploits the Domain Name Service (DNS) by which networks map textual domain names onto the IP numbers by which they actually route data packets.
"Assuming the DNS name of another system by either corrupting the name service cache of a victim system, or by compromising a domain name server for a valid domain." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

dominant battlespace awareness (DBA)

A term applied to connote own-system advantage with respect to sensor / reconnaissance / intelligence data in a particular battlespace. Cf. Owens (1995a; 1995b).

dominant battlespace knowledge (DBK)

A term applied to connote the own-system understanding and capacity for action deriving from (dominant) battlespace awareness.
"...namely, the ability to understand what we see and act on it decisively" (Rokke, 1995, p. ix).
Derives from "...merging our increasing capacity to gather real-time, all-weather information continuously with our increasing capacity to process and make sense of this voluminous data..." (Owens, 1995c, p. 7)

double enveloping

Given the usage of an envelope -- information added to a data packet to ensure the packet is received correctly at its destination ...

"A technique consisting of encasing the content and envelope of a message in a new outer envelope to protect the information on the envelope whenever a message is forwarded through a less trusted domain. The content of the new outer envelope may or may not be encrypted, depending on the degree of trust accorded to the less trusted domain." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

dumpster diving

A form of HUMINT in which cast-off articles and information are scavenged in an attempt to obtain advantageous data. For example, going through someone's trash to recover documentation of his / her critical data (Social Security number, credit card ID numbers, etc.).

"The practice of raiding the dumpsters behind buildings where producers and/or consumers of high-tech equipment are located with the expectation of finding discarded but still-valuable equipment or information." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

economic info-warfare / economic information warfare

The application of IW tactics to leverage one's interests in the economic realm. A subclassification of IW delineated by Martin Libicki in his essay What Is Information Warfare?.

economic warfare

"Aggressive use of economic means to achieve national objectives." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

electromagnetic intrusion

"The intentional insertion of electromagnetic energy into transmission paths in any manner, with the objective of deceiving operators or of causing confusion. See also electronic warfare." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

electronic warfare

"Any military action involving the use of electromagnetic and directed energy to control the electromagnetic spectrum or to attack the enemy. Also called EW. The three major subdivisions within electronic warfare are:

electronic attack. That division of electronic warfare involving the use of electromagnetic, directed energy, or antiradiation weapons to attack personnel, facilities, or equipment with the intent of degrading, neutralizing, or destroying enemy combat capability. Also called EA. EA includes: 1) actions taken to prevent or reduce an enemy's effective use of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as jamming and electromagnetic deception, and 2) employment of weapons that use either electromagnetic or directed energy as their primary destructive mechanism (lasers, radio frequency weapons, particle beams).
electronic protection. That division of electronic warfare involving actions taken to protect personnel, facilities, and equipment from any effects of friendly or enemy employment of electronic warfare that degrade, neutralize, or destroy friendly combat capability. Also called EP.
electronic warfare support. That division of electronic warfare involving actions tasked by, or under direct control of, an operational commander to search for, intercept, identify, and locate sources of intentional and unintentional radiated electromagnetic energy for the purpose of immediate threat recognition. Thus, electronic warfare support provides information required for immediate decisions involving electronic warfare operations and other tactical actions such as threat avoidance, targeting, and homing. Also called ES. Electronic warfare support data can be used to produce signals intelligence, communications intelligence, and electronics intelligence."
(DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

electronics intelligence

"Technical and geolocation intelligence derived from foreign non-communications electromagnetic radiations emanating from other than nuclear detonations or radioactive sources." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

Acronym = ELINT.

electronics security

"The protection resulting from all measures designed to deny unauthorized persons information of value that might be derived from their interception and study of noncommunications electromagnetic radiations, e.g., radar." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

This term is also (more loosely) used to connote the topical area or task specialization focusing on achieving this type of protection.

electro-optical intelligence

"Intelligence other than signals intelligence derived from the optical monitoring of the electromagnetic spectrum from ultraviolet (0.01 micrometers) through far infrared (1,000 micrometers)." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

Acronym = ELECTRO-OPTINT.

ELINT

Acronym for electronics intelligence.

Entrapment

"The deliberate planting of apparent flaws in a system for the purpose of detecting attempted penetrations." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

essential elements of friendly information

"Key questions likely to be asked by adversary officials and intelligence systems about specific friendly intentions, capabilities, and activities, so they can obtain answers critical to their operational effectiveness. Also called EEFI." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

essential elements of information

"The critical items of information regarding the enemy and the environment needed by the commander by a particular time to relate with other available information and intelligence in order to assist in reaching a logical decision. Also called EEI." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

Ethernet meltdown

"An event that causes saturation or near saturation on an Ethernet. It usually results from illegal or misrouted packets and typically lasts only a short time." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

For example, an IP transmission addressed to a nonexistent recipient node and broadcast to all machines on a network can result in gateways' / routers' sending out Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) packets in an attempt to locate the non-existent recipient and forward the transmission. This forces the gateway(s) to spend processing cycles on the futile search, to the expense of handling normal network traffic. To the extent the network's operations are negatively affected, this can constitute an effective means for degradation of service or even temporary denial of service.

Ethernet sniffing

A form of sniffing directed at basic Ethernet traffic (e.g., by monitoring packets passing through / by a router) and screening for packets of interest (e.g., those containing or indicative of passwords). This process can be performed by automatic means, with the composite 'take' being logged into a summary form for further analysis and exploitation.

EW

Acronym for electronic warfare.

firewall

A metaphorical label for a set of hardware and software components protecting system resources (e.g., servers, LANs) from exogenous attack via a network (e.g., from Internet users) by intercepting and checking network traffic. The 'mix' of hardware and software accomplishing firewall operations can vary. For LAN installations of any size, the typical approach is to install one or more computers 'positioned' at critical junctures (e.g., gateways) and dedicated to the firewall functions. It is typically the case that such installations are configured such that all external connections (e.g., modems, ports) are 'outside' the firewall (with respect to its domain of protection), or at least 'abut' it on its 'external face'. The firewall's own 'internal' connection into the protected domain is typically the focus of monitoring functions.

"A system or combination of systems that enforces a boundary between two or more networks. Gateway that limits access between networks in accordance with local security policy. The typical firewall is an inexpensive micro-based Unix box kept clean of critical data, with a bunch of modems and public network ports on it but just one carefully watched connection back to the rest of the cluster." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

firewall machine

A specific computer dedicated to effecting a firewall.

first-wave war(fare)

Cf. Toffler & Toffler (1993). The term for the mode or character of war(fare) exemplified in primitive, pastoral, and agricultural societies and dating from prehistory. This is Toffler's category corresponding to pre-industrial war(fare) or primitive war(fare), as those terms are colloquially used.

fishbowl

A defensive IW tactic in which a suspicious or unauthorized user is permitted to continue established access to the protected system / network, but whose interactions with that system / network are (all unknown and unapparent to the subject) 'encapsulated' within a secure domain of operations (e.g., rerouted to an isolated computer; redirected to a dummy environment simulating an actual server) so that IW defenders can observe and analyze the user's intentions, tactics, and/or identity.

"To contain, isolate and monitor an unauthorized user within a system in order to gain information about the user." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

fog of war

The aggregate of factors which reduce or preclude situational certainty in a battlespace. The origin of this term is often attributed to Clausewitz, although it would appear that the label is actually more of a post hoc appellation for some of the issues which Clausewitz addressed.

fork bomb

A disruptive piece of code directed toward a Unix-based system which causes runaway 'forking' (splitting / replication) of operating system processes to degrade or (if saturation is achieved) deny that target system's operations.

"Code that can be written in one line of code on any Unix system; used to recursively spawn copies of itself, "explodes" eventually eating all the process table entries and effectively locks up the system." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

friction (of war)

The aggregate of factors and events which reduce or degrade operational efficiency (and hence effectiveness) in the "real world" of warmaking. The label is a metaphorical allusion to the sort of 'heat loss' which is an inescapable part of physical-mechanical systems. This 'friction' was a focal idea in the 19th Century writings of Clausewitz.

global information environment

"all Individuals, organizations, or systems, most of which are outside the control of the military or National Command Authorities, that collect, process, and disseminate information to national and international audiences." (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)

hacker

The label 'hacker' has come to connote a person who deliberately accesses and exploits computer and information systems to which he / she has no authorized access. Originally, the term was an accolade for someone highly motivated to explore what computers could do and/or to explore the limits of his / her technical skills (especially in programming). 'A great hack' was a common compliment for an especially cunning or innovative piece of software code. The term 'cracker' was then reserved for people intruding into computer / information systems for the thrill of it (or worse). Over time, 'cracker' faded from usage and 'hacker' came to subsume its (unfortunate) connotations.

"A person who enjoys exploring the details of computers and how to stretch their capabilities. A malicious or inquisitive meddler who tries to discover information by poking around. A person who enjoys learning the details of programming systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)
"The term hackers has a relatively long history. Hackers were at one time persons who explored the inner workings of computer systems to expand their capabilities, as opposed to those who simply used computer systems. Today the term generally refers to unauthorized individuals who attempt to penetrate information systems; browse, steal, or modify data; deny access or service to others; or cause damage or harm in some other way."
(GAO, Information Security: Computer Attacks at Department of Defense Pose Increasing Risks, Report GAO/AIMD-96-84, 1996)
"The definition of the term "hacker" has changed over the years. A hacker was once thought of as any individual who enjoyed getting the most out of the system he was using. A hacker would use a system extensively and study the system until he became proficient in all its nuances. This individual was respected as a source of information for local computer users; someone referred to as a "guru" or "wizard." Now, however, the term hacker is used to refer to people who either break into systems for which they have no authorization or intentionally overstep their bounds on systems for which they do have legitimate access."
(Bassham & Polk, 1992)

hijacking

A term (typically applied in combination with another) to connote action to usurp activity or interactions in progress. Most commonly used for those tactics which allow an intruder to usurp an authorized user's session for his / her own ends.

Cf. IP splicing / hijacking, session hijacking

hyperwar

A term (attributed to 'Air Force planners') describing the notion that "...war is becoming unimaginably and unmanageably fast." (Arnett, 1992, p. 15)

I2WAR

Acronym for infrastructural and information warfare (cf. M. Wilson, 1997).

I&W

Acronym for indications and warnings. (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)

This is a sort of catch-all label for any and all data signifying an operant or potential threat. Typically, 'indications and warnings' connotes a summarization or fusion of raw data into a synopsis of current threat condition(s) -- e.g., a report from an intel unit.

I&W/TA

Acronym for 'indications and warnings / threat assessment'. This label is occasionally used to connote the summarization of incoming data with respect to threat conditions (extant or predicted).

IBW

Acronym for information-based warfare (Ryan, 1995).
Acronym for intelligence-based warfare (Libicki / National Defense University Strategic Forum 28, 1995).

IDS

Acronym for intrusion detection system.

IDW

Acronym for information dominance warfare.

IEW

Acronym for intelligence and electronic warfare. (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)

indications and warning(s)

"Those intelligence activities intended to detect and report time-sensitive intelligence information on foreign developments that could involve a threat to the United States or allied military, political, or economic interests or to U.S. citizens abroad. It includes forewarning of enemy actions or intentions; the imminence of hostilities; insurgency; nuclear/non-nuclear attack on the United States, its overseas forces, or allied nations; hostile reactions to United States reconnaissance activities; terrorists' attacks; and other similar events." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

Acronym = "I&W".

indirect information warfare

"Changing the adversary's information by creating phenomena that the adversary must then observe and analyze." (Widnall & Fogleman, 1995)

industrial warfare

Cf. Toffler & Toffler (1993). The term for the class or character of war / warfare exemplified from the 18th Century through to the present. Synonymous with Second-Wave War(fare).

information

"Facts, data, or instructions in any medium or form.
The meaning that a human assigns to data by means of the known conventions used in their representation."
(DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

"In intelligence usage, unevaluated material of every description that may be used in the production of intelligence." (U.S. Army Field Manual FM 34-1: Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Operations, 1994)

Information Age

A label generally used to connote the present / prospective era in which information technology (IT) is the dominant technical artifacture.

"the future time period when social, cultural, and economic patterns will reflect the decentralized, nonhierarchical flow of information; contrast this to the more centralized, hierarchical, social, cultural, and economic patterns that reflect the Industrial Age's mechanization of production systems." (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)

information age warfare

That subset of warmaking which "...uses information technology as a tool to impart our combat operations with unprecedented economies of time and force." (Widnall & Fogleman, 1995, p. 2)
This is exemplified (Ibid., footnote 1) by a cruise missile (cf. Owens (1995a) on precision force projection).
Cf. Rona's (1976)information war.
Fowler & Peterson (1997) choose this term as the focus of their examination of the new warfare. They outline the confluence of post-Cold War military trends (e.g. toward OOTW), the increasing ubiquity of information technology, and the feed-forward of experience from (e.g.) psyops and deception (for which they reserve the label information warfare).

"In simple terms, Information Age Warfare may be seen as the union of classical warfare with the cultural and technological aspects of information."
...
"The union of these two is Information Age Warfare, but is more than a simple combination. One feature of Information Age Warfare is the perception that control of information may be more important than air superiority was in previous wars. Information technology is more than just an enhancement of traditional military command and control, it changes the whole vision of military operations. Of course, very few missions can be accomplished solely with information means; information dominance without military means will not hold or take contested ground. Another feature of Information Age Warfare is a blurring of traditional boundaries. This blurring is multi-dimensional, but one of the most obvious is the distinctions among the philosophical levels of strategic-operational-tactical organization."

information attack

"Directly corrupting information without visibly changing the physical entity within which it resides." (Widnall & Fogleman, 1995, p. 6) In the wake of an information attack "...an information function is indistinguishable from its original state except through inspecting its data or instructions." (Ibid.)

information-based warfare

Synonym for information warfare (cf. Ryan, 1995).
"An approach to armed conflict focusing on managing and using information in all its forms and at all levels to achieve a decisive military advantage, especially in the joint and combined environment." (Campen, 1995, p. 68).
Acronym = IBW (cf. Ryan, 1995). NOTE: The IBW acronym is also used for intelligence-based warfare.
"Information-based warfare is an approach to armed conflict focusing on the management and use of information in all its forms and at all levels to achieve a decisive military advantage, especially in the joint and combined environment. Information based-warfare is both offensive and defensive in nature - ranging from measures that prohibit the enemy from exploring information to corresponding measures to assure the integrity, availability, and interoperability of friendly information assets.
While ultimately military in nature, IBW is also waged in political, economic, and social arenas and is applicable over the entire national security continuum from peace to war and from 'tooth to tail.' Finally, Information Based Warfare focuses on the command and control needs of the commander by employing state of the art information technology such as syntheticenvironments to dominate the battlefield."
(Everett, DeWindt & McDade, 1997)

information collection

That aspect of IW activities concerned with the acquisition of data. "An organization needs a variety of information to support its operations. ...Information collection includes the entry points for information into an organization from both internal and external sources. Issues include quantity (completeness), quality (accuracy), and timeliness of this information. Business examples of collection systems include point-of-sale (POS) systems, market surveys, government statistics, and internal management data. Military examples of collection systems include tactical radars and other sensors." (Cramer, 1996)

information compromise

That class or type of IW threat which "... involves a competitor gaining access to an organization's proprietary data." (Cramer, 1996)

information denial

A term used by Cramer (1996) to connote "... measures beyond normal protection to specifically target an adversary's collection systems. There are two types of denial: direct attacks on the adversary's information systems, and providing misinformation to its systems to deceive and induce the adversary to take actions that are not to its advantage. ... For the military, direct attacks include electronic warfare (jamming) of sensors and radio links. ... Besides direct attacks, there are safer ways to corrupt an adversary's data bases. These rely on providing false information to the targeted competitor�s collection systems to induce this organization to make bad decisions based upon this faulty information."

information destruction

That class or type of IW threat to one's data assets which "... involves the loss of these data (or loss of access to these data) as the result of a hostile attack by an adversary." (Cramer, 1996)

information dominance

In warfare,an operational advantage obtained through superior effectiveness of informational activity (acquisition and processing of data, information, and/or knowledge), to the extent that this advantage is demonstrated in practice through superior effectiveness of instrumental activity.
"the degree of information superiority that allows the possessor to use information systems and capabilities to achieve an operational advantage in a conflict or to control the situation in operations other than war while denying those capabilities to the adversary." (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)
Information dominance has as as its true purpose "...to provide an exploitable knowledge dominance." (Mann, 1994, p. 9)
"...acquiring the necessary information for friendly forces while denying it to the enemy" (Mazarr, 1994)
"Information dominance is a delta: the difference between the aggregate of information available to each of two opposing military commanders. But its more than just information: Its the difference in understanding of information in the context of some specific purpose that is the crux of the definition. Information dominance then refers to a difference in what is termed Battlefield Visualization." (U.S. Army: David M. Link white paper on Information Dominance, November 1995)
According to Lee (1994), the concept dates back to Soviet military theorization of the late 1970's. They saw 'information dominance' as a potential outcome of the USA's technological superiority in IT -- a superiority considered to constitute a military technical revolution. He cites Krepenivich (1992, p. 14) as the source.
"..a condition in which a nation possesses a greater understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, interdependencies, and centers of gravity of an adversary's military, political, social, and economic infrastructure than the enemy has on friendly sources of national power." (Lee, 1994, p. 3, citing Krepenivich, 1992, p. 22)

information dominance warfare (IDW)

The subcategory of information warfare (IW) aimed at leveraging data, information, and knowledge to tactical and strategic advantage, as opposed to leveraging the media, channels, and vehicles of information transfer and/or processing. Cf. Widnall & Fogleman's (1995) definition for IW. The goal of IDW is to achieve information dominance.

information function

"Any activity involving the acquisition, transmission, storage, or transformation of information." (Widnall & Fogleman, 1995)

information in war / information in warfare

A term which has come to be used to denote the application of information (and information processing / technology) in the context of military operations (conventionally delineated), as opposed to that connotation accorded IW to the effect that information and information systems are the substance, the tools, and the targets in an emerging warform.

"Information-in-war involves the AF's extensive capabilities to provide global awareness throughout the range of military operations based on integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) assets; information collection/dissemination activities; and global navigation and positioning; weather; and communications capabilities."
(USAF Air University / CADRE, Information Warfare Division definitions)

Acronyms = IinW(information in war); IIW(information in warfare)

information operations (also Information Ops)

The term "information operations" is typically encountered in IW discussions as a label for those concrete tasks and activities by which one pursues one's own interests in the information realm. As such, information operations (or "info ops") most commonly denotes specific paths of action, in contrast to IW denoting the broader sphere within which these actions are undertaken.

"Any action involving the acquisition, transmission, storage, or transformation of information that enhances the employment of military forces." (Widnall & Fogleman, 1995)
"Our information management capacity will leverage our ability to pinpoint an adversary's centers of gravity. And with this kind of information we'll have a whole new discipline called information operations that will play a critical role before, during and after any crisis." (Defense Issues 10:18, 1995)
"continuous military operations within the military information environment that enable, enhance, and protect the friendly force's ability to collect, process, and act on information to achieve an advantage across the full range of military operations; information operations include interacting with the global information environment and exploiting or denying an adversary's information and decision capabilities." (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)

information ops (also "info ops")

Synonym for information operations. (Defense Issues 10:18, 1995)

information protect

A (seemingly ungrammatical) synonym for information protection, quite frequently used in the U.S. military IW literature.

Acronym = IP.

information protection

"Information protection addresses two types of threats: information compromise and destruction. Compromise involves a competitor gaining access to an organization's proprietary data. Destruction involves the loss of these data (or loss of access to these data) as the result of a hostile attack by an adversary." (Cramer, 1996)

Acronym = IP.

information realm

A commonly-used term to denote the virtual space of data networks, their contents, and their commerce. Related terms include: infosphere, cyberspace, datasphere, and virtual realm.

information security

"the protection of unauthorized access to or modification of information, whether in storage, processing, or transit, and against the denial of service to authorized users or the provision of service to unauthorized users, including those measures necessary to detect, document, and counter such threats." (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)
"The result of any system of policies and procedures for identifying, controlling, and protecting from unauthorized disclosure, information whose protection is authorized by executive order or statute." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

Acronym = INFOSEC

information superiority

"That degree of dominance in the information domain which permits the conduct of operations without effective opposition." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

"Information Superiority combines the capabilities of intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) and command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) to acquire and assimilate information needed to effectively employ our own forces to dominate and neutralize adversary forces. It includes the capability for near-real-time awareness of the location and activity of friendly, adversary, and neutral forces throughout the battlespace; and a seamless, robust C4I network linking all friendly forces that provides common awareness of the current situation." (DOD Joint Warfighting Science and Technology Plan)

information system(s)

Acronym = INFOSYS.

"the entire infrastructure, organization, personnel, and components that collect, process, store, transmit, display, disseminate, and act on information." (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)

information systems security

As used in the AFCERT Computer Glossary, a synonym for INFOSEC - "Protection of information systems against unauthorized access to or modification of information, whether in storage, processing or transit and against the denial of service to authorized users."

information systems warfare (ISW)

The subcategory of information warfare (IW) aimed at leveraging media, channels, and vehicles of information transfer and/or processing to tactical and strategic advantage. Cf. Widnall & Fogleman's (1995) information age warfare.

information terrorism

An ill-defined term (as yet) invoked to connote cyberspace mischief undertaken with intentions or ramifications analogous to the fear-inducing physical attacks we associate with 'terrorist' activity.

"Political terrorism is the systematic use of actual or threatened physical violence in the pursuit of a political objective, to create a general climate of public fear and destabilize society, and thus influence a population or government policy. Information terrorism is the nexus between criminal information system fraud or abuse, and the physical violence of terrorism. However, particularly in a legal sense, information terrorism can be the intentional abuse of a digital information system, network, or component toward an end that supports or facilitates a terrorist campaign or action. In this case, the system abuse would not necessarily result in direct violence against humans, although it may still incite fear."
(Devost, Houghton & Pollard, 1997)

These authors go on to use a 2 X 2 matrix (of 'physical' vs. 'digital' crossed with 'tools' versus 'targets') to delineate information terrorism as those activities exhibiting 'terrorist' profiles in which either the tools or the target of the attack(s) were 'digital'.

information transport

That element of IW activities which "... involves moving data from points of collection to points of storage or use. The speed with which this is done affects the timeliness of the data availability and therefore the responsiveness of the organization to situations. ... Transport considerations must be viewed within the overall Information Warfare perspective, since the same efficiency that facilitates rapid message and data transportation also may be used by a competitor to download proprietary data bases in seconds or minutes." (Cramer, 1996)

information war

A term used by Rona (1976) to connote activities "intertwined with, and superimposed on, other military operations" exploiting data and information in support of traditional military tasks such as command and control. Cf. Widnall & Fogleman's (1995) information age warfare.
"Manipulative, disruptive or destructive actions taken covertly orovertly during peacetime, crisis or war against societal, political, economic, industrial or military electronic information systems." (Campen, 1995, p. 68, as information war(fare)).

information warfare (abbreviated IW)

The broad class of activities aimed at leveraging data, information, and knowledge in support of military goals. Subcategories of information warfare can be differentiated into two general classes: (a) those aimed at leveraging the vehicles of information transfer / processing (information systems warfare -- ISW) and (b) those aimed at leveraging the informative content or effect of such systems, whether those targeted by (a) or not -- information dominance warfare (IDW).
"Actions taken to achieve information superiority by affecting adversary information, information-based processes, information systems, and computer-based networks while leveraging and defending one's own information, information-based processes, information systems, and computer-based networks." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)
"Information Warfare (IW) encompasses actions taken to achieve information superiority by affecting adversary information, information-based processes, information systems and computer-based networks, while defending one's own information, information-based processes, information systems, and computer-based networks. In this section, the term "information system" includes information, information-based processes, information systems, and computer-based networks either individually or in combination with each other." (DOD Joint Warfighting Science and Technology Plan)
"...[I]nformation Warfare embraces several related, but distinct sets of ideas which are not always clearly distinguished. For many defense analysts, it refers primarily the military application of' computers and other information technologies, and the organizational, operational and doctrinal changes this implies for the US and other military establishments. For other writers, however, Information Warfare is a much broader idea, relating to the emergence of ''Information Age'' civilization and the development of associated modes of political and social conflict which point toward the gradual erosion of nation-states and their monopoly of organized violence." (Miller, 1995)
"Actions taken to achieve information superiority by affecting adversary information, information based processes, and information systems, while defending our own information, information based processes, and information systems. Any action to deny, exploit, corrupt, or destroy the enemy's information and its functions, protect ourselves against those actions; and exploiting our own military information functions." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)
"Information Warfare (IW) encompasses actions taken to achieve information superiority by affecting adversary information, information-based processes, information systems and computer-based networks, while defending one's own information, information-based processes, information systems, and computer-based networks. In this section, the term "information system" includes information, information-based processes, information systems, and computer-based networks either individually or in combination with each other." (DoD Joint Warfighter Science & Technology Plan, 1997)
"...views information itself as a separate realm, potent weapon, and lucrative target." (Widnall & Fogleman, 1995, p. 2)
"Any action to deny, exploit, corrupt, or destroy the enemy's information and its functions; protecting ourselves against those actions; and exploiting our own military information functions." (Widnall & Fogleman, 1995)
"...in its largest sense, is simply the use of information to achieve our national objectives." (Stein, 1995, p. 32)
"...can be seen as societal-level or nation-to-nation conflict waged, in part, through the worldwide internetted and interconnected means of information and communication." (Stein, 1995, p. 32)
"...in its most fundamental sense, is the emerging 'theater' in which future nation-against-nation conflict at the strategic level is most likely to occur." (Stein, 1995, p. 32)
"...may be the theater in which 'operations other than war' are conducted, especially as it may permit the United States to accomplish some important national security goals without the need for forward-deployed military forces in every corner of the planet." (Stein, 1995, p. 32)
"...in its essence, is about ideas and epistemology -- big words meaning that information warfare is about the way humans think and, more importantly, the way humans make decisions." (Stein, 1995, p. 32)
"...is about influencing human beings and the decisions they make." (Stein, 1995, p. 32)
"...at the strategic level is the 'battle off the battlefield' to shape the political context of the conflict." (Stein, 1995, p. 33)
(With respect to establishing IW doctrine:) "...assume that information warfare is warfare in the information realm as is air warfare in the air and space realm." (Stein, 1995, p. 38)
"...sometimes is erroneously referred to as command and control warfare, or C2W." (Szafranski, 1995, p. 65, footnote 1).
"...is a much larger set of activities [than C2W] aimed at the mind and will of the enemy." (Szafranski, 1995, p. 65, footnote 1).
"...is a form of conflict that attacks information systems directly as a means to attack adversary knowledge or beliefs." (Szafranski, 1995, p. 58).
"...can be prosecuted as a component of a larger and more comprehensive set of hostile activities -- a netwar or cyberwar -- or it can be undertaken as the sole form of hostile activity." (Szafranski, 1995, p. 58).
Defined to be a possible component (therefore a partial subset?) of netwar and/or cyberwar (cf. Szafranski, 1995, p. 58).
"...is hostile activity directed against any part of the knowledge and belief systems of an adversary." (Szafranski, 1995, p. 58).
(For USAF:) "...is any action that we may take to deny, exploit, corrupt, or destroy an enemy's information and its functions, while protecting those actions, those functions, for ourselves." (Maj. Gen. Robert E. Linhard, USAF director of Plans in the office of the deputy chief of staff for Plans and Operations, quoted in Grier, 1995, p. 36. NB: cf. Ralston in Ely, 1995)
(For USAF:) "...is any action to deny, exploit, corrupt or destroy the enemy's information and its systems; while protecting against those actions; and exploiting our own information operations." (Gen. Joe Ralston, commander of Air Combat Command and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,, quoted in Ely, 1995, p. 4. NB: cf. Linhard in Grier, 1995)
"Manipulative, disruptive or destructive actions taken covertly or overtly during peacetime, crisis or war against societal, political, economic, industrial or military electronic information systems." (Campen, 1995, p. 68, as information war(fare)).
Is best explained with reference to A. and H. Toffler's books (cf. Jensen, 1994).
Is not effectively addressed with the principles and tactics of industrial warfare (cf. Jensen, 1994, p. 37 ff.).
At a minimum, "... means the emergence of greatly improved methods of command, control, and communications." (Grier, 1995, p. 35)
"...will be characterized by weapon accuracy and lethality far surpassing that of today's laser-guided bombs and missiles. Situational awareness -- whether it pertains to air or ground combat -- would be extremely exact." (Grier, 1995, p. 35)

INFOSEC

Acronym for information security.

infosphere

Apparent synonym for cyberspace
"the rapidly growing global network of military and commercial command, control, communications, and computer systems and networks linking information data bases and fusion centers that are accessible to the warrior anywhere, anytime, in the performance of any mission; provides the worldwide automated information-of-exchange backbone support to joint forces; and provides seamless operations from anywhere to anywhere that is secure and transparent to the warrior; this emerging capability is highly flexible to support the adaptive command and control infrastructures of the twenty-first century." (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)
the information realm (Stein, 1995, p. 38).
The term is used by Powell (1992) to connote the informational dimension or subcomponent of the battlespace.
"Each level of development, each level of society, has its own mechanism of establishing an information environment or 'infosphere'--in more technological cultures, this environment is enabled by the information infrastructure ...,but the information environment is not unique to advanced cultures..." (M. Wilson, Waging IWAR, 1997)

INFOSYS

Acronyn for information systems.

infowar

Apparent synonym for information warfare (cf. Waller, 1995).

infrastructural and information warfare

A term used by Michael Wilson (cf. papers listed in the Bibliography) to connote the composite of information/cyber warfare and exploitation/disruption of fundamental infrastructures.

Acronym = 'I2WAR'

"Target profiles of I2WAR fall into four general categories:
Denial of service physical infrastructure attacks, which can be viewed as low intensity conflicts, including guerrilla and terror actions;
Denial of service virtual infrastructure attacks, what are being referred to as information warfare;
Psychological warfare attacks, more subtle efforts that have their effect through perversion of the functionality of the decision-making process;
Technologically augmented political warfare, which straddles the line of legitimate action in the political process.
(Wilson, Infrastructural Warfare Threat Model, 1997)

infrastructural warfare

A term connoting warmaking activities directed toward degradation, disruption, or destruction of an adversary's 'infrastructure' -- those elements, assets, and composites thereof providing operational foundations for target activities.

"Infrastructural Warfare (IWAR) is warfare waged to or from the material and information infrastructures, and includes terrorism, guerrilla warfare, information warfare." (Journal of Infrastructural Warfare WWW home page)

"Information warfare is closely related to infrastructural warfare, which involves the disruption of a government without necessarily causing direct loss of life. As more computers connect to systems used by society as a whole, the capability to use computers to engage in infrastructural warfare will only increase." (Nitzberg, 1997)

Acronym = 'IWAR'

Cf. infrastructure, infrastructural and information warfare

infrastructure

A term used in general parlance to connote the distinguishable set of resources, elements, and arrangements thereof which comprise the operational foundation for a given activity. Because the Internet is rapidly becoming a basis for (e.g.) commerce, it is increasingly seen as a critical piece of 'infrastructure'. Because many forms of IW mischief disrupt or degrade the operation of an adversary's network 'infrastructure' (at any of a variety of levels of constitution), IW has come to be treated in some quarters as a matter of 'infrastructural warfare'.

"Infrastructure is dynamic and varies widely across the individuals of a society. A working definition can be gained by the simple process of recording `a day in the life' of a significant subset of individuals ..."
"For a period in the subject's life, a record could be made of every service, object, mechanism, information, or process they take advantage of yet do not supply themselves. This record is a first-stage approximation of the dependencies the individual has on the infrastructural elements provided by the political economy." ...[This process continues until it produces] "... a list of individuals and domains, and the material and informational dependencies they require to continue to function in their daily lives."
(M. Wilson, 1997)

instrumental dominance

(As opposed to information dominance). The advantage obtained through superior physical force projection, without regard to or reliance upon any corresponding advantage in relevant informational activities.

integrity (of information)

"Integrity refers to keeping information accurate, i.e., keeping it from being modified or corrupted." (GAO, Information Security: Computer Attacks at Department of Defense Pose Increasing Risks, Report GAO/AIMD-96-84, 1996) As such, this term is a more precise label for at least one of the interpretations given the term 'accuracy'.

intel

Common abbreviated form of the term intelligence.

intelligence

"The product resulting from the collection, processing, integration, analysis, evaluation, and interpretation of available information concerning foreign countries or areas.
Information and knowledge about an adversary obtained through observation, investigation, analysis, or understanding." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)
"The product resulting from the collection, evaluation, analysis, integration, and interpretation of all available information which concerns one or more aspects of foreign nations or of areas of foreign operations, and which is immediately or potentially significant to military planning and operations." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

NOTE: The DOD Dictionary of Military Terms contains discrete listings for: acoustic intelligence; all-source intelligence; basic intelligence; civil defense intelligence; combat intelligence; communications intelligence; critical intelligence; current intelligence; departmental intelligence; domestic intelligence; electronics intelligence; electro-optical intelligence; escape and evasion intelligence; foreign intelligence; foreign instrumentation signals intelligence; general military intelligence; human resources intelligence; imagery intelligence; joint intelligence; laser intelligence; measurement and signature intelligence; medical intelligence; merchant intelligence; military intelligence; national intelligence; nuclear intelligence; open source intelligence; operational intelligence; photographic intelligence; political intelligence; radar intelligence; radiation intelligence; scientific and technical intelligence; security intelligence; strategic intelligence; tactical intelligence; target intelligence; technical intelligence; technical operational intelligence; telemetry intelligence; terrain intelligence; unintentional radiation intelligence.

intelligence-based warfare

Warfighting characterized by rapid and effective acquisition and application of intelligence data. (cf. Libicki, 1995).

Acronym = IBW. NOTE: The 'IBW' acronym is also used for information-based warfare.

intelligence cycle

"The steps by which information is converted into intelligence and made available to users. There are five steps in the cycle:

planning and direction--Determination of intelligence requirements, preparation of a collection plan, issuance of orders and requests to information collection agencies, and a continuous check on the productivity of collection agencies.
collection--Acquisition of information and the provision of this information to processing and/or production elements.
processing--Conversion of collected information into a form suitable to the production of intelligence.
production--Conversion of information into intelligence through the integration, analysis, evaluation, and interpretation of all source data and the preparation of intelligence products in support of known or anticipated user requirements.
dissemination--Conveyance of intelligence to users in a suitable form."

(DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

intelligence preparation of the battlespace

Acronym = IPB.

"An analytical methodology employed to reduce uncertainties concerning the enemy, environment, and terrain for all types of operations. Intelligence preparation of the battlespace builds an extensive data base for each potential area in which a unit may be required to operate. The data base is then analyzed in detail to determine the impact of the enemy, environment, and terrain on operations and presents it in graphic form. Intelligence preparation of the battlespace is a continuing process. Also called "intelligence preparation of the battlefield". (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)
"The systematic, continuous process of analyzing the threat and environment in a specific geographic area. IPB is designed to support the staff estimate and military decision making process." (U.S. Army Field Manual FM 34-1: Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Operations, 1994)

INTELSAT

Acronym for intelligence satellite.

interaction

"Interaction occurs when two or more individuals may come into contact and a change in the behavior and/or attitude of one, some, or all takes place. The psychological operator, using the technique of face-to-face communications, interacts with an individual or group. Through his persuasive message, a behavior and/or attitude change is sought." (US Army Field Manual 33-1 'Psychological Operations')

intrusion

An instance of unauthorized access into or penetration of a computer / information system.

intrusion attempt

An event taken to be a potentially deliberate and unauthorized action toward accessing data / information, manipulating data / information, and/or rendering a given data / information system unreliable or unusable.

intrusion detection

The general label for the technical field(s) addressing how one identifies and characterizes actions presumed to be threatening to own-system security. The label is attributed to: J.P Anderson. Computer Security Threat Monitoring and Surveillance. Technical report, James P Anderson Co., Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, April 1980.

Intrustion detection tactics can be subdivided into 2 main categories: anomaly detection and misuse detection.

"Pertaining to techniques which attempt to detect intrusion into a computer or network by observation of security logs or audit data. Detection of break-ins or attempts either manually or via software expert systems that operate on logs or other information available on the network." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

intrusion detection system (IDS)

A software and/or hardware system designed to monitor computer and/or network operations and identify any pattern(s) of activity presumed to indicate intrusion attempts.

Acronym = 'IDS'.

IO

Acronym for information operations. (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)

IOC

Acronym for information operations center. (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)

IP

Acronym for information protection / information protect.
Acronym for Internet Protocol (as in TCP/IP).

IP splicing / hijacking

A form of surreptitious co-opting of an interactive session through manipulation of low-level IP features. The allusion to 'splicing' connotes that the attacker 'splices' his packet stream into a stream already established / acknowledge / authenticated. The allusion to 'hijacking' connotes that the attacker thus masquerades as whomever originally established the connection, allowing him to 'hijack' the session to his own ends.

"An attack whereby an active, established, session is intercepted and co-opted by the attacker. IP splicing attacks may occur after an authentication has been made, permitting the attacker to assume the role of an already authorized user. Primary protections against IP splicing rely on encryption at the session or network layer." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

IP spoofing

"An attack whereby a system attempts to illicitly impersonate another system by using IP network address." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

IPB

Acronym for intelligence preparation of the battlespace.

ISR

Acronym for intelligence / surveillance / reconnaissance (i.e., the set of functions comprising the 'sensor / perception' interface of a military system).

ISW

Acronym for information systems warfare.

IW

Acronym for information warfare

IW-D

Acronym for information warfare-defense -- i.e., that subset of IW which addresses protection of own-force systems and networks against intrusion and attacks.

key communicator

"...an individual or group having the economic, social, or political power to persuade the individuals or groups with which he interacts to change or reinforce existing opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behaviors." (US Army Field Manual 33-1 'Psychological Operations')

keystroke monitoring

A form of user surveillance in which the actual character-by-character traffic (i.e., that user's 'keystrokes') are monitored, analyzed, and/or logged for future reference.

"A specialized form of audit trail software, or a specially designed device, that records every key struck by a user and every character of the response that the host computer returns to the user." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

knowledge

The state or mechanism(s) ascribed to a system to explain complex mediation between effective acquisition of data from, and effective action in, an operational environment. This approach to knowledge explicitly ties it to the processes of both eduction and enaction with respect to the given operational environment, and hence links it to one or more specific actors in that given domain. These connections explain the IW literature's claims that knowledge "...is active and must be possessed if it is to exist -- let alone be useful." (Mann, 1994, p. 9).

knowledge-based warfare

Per the AJP ACTD Web site:

"Knowledge-based warfare is the ability of one side to obtain essential and key elements of truth while denying these same elements of truth to the other side. It is based on Sir Winston Churchill's premise that 'truth (knowledge) is the most precious commodity in warfare.' "

"The key attributes of knowledge-based warfare are timely, high fidelity, comprehensive, synthesized, and visual data. The end game is a complete 'pictorial' representation of reality that the decision maker can tune to his/her unique needs at any given time. This picture must include both 'blue' and 'red' data, although this ACTD concentrates on the provision of 'blue' data only."

(cf. information warfare, information-based warfare, intelligence-based warfare )

knowledge dominance

In warfare, an operational advantage (vis a vis an adversary) in exploiting information to guide effective action. This is the goal of information dominance (Mann, 1994, p. 9)

knowledge war

A synonym for IW or Third-Wave War (cf. Jensen, 1994, p. 35).

leapfrog attack

Any form of intrusion / attack accomplished by exploitation of data / information obtained on a site / server other than the attack's target.
"Use of userid and password information obtained illicitly from one host to compromise another host." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)
In a second, distinct, sense -- a method of intrusion / attack in which the intruder / attacker 'approaches' the target system through at least one intermediate system other than his / her own platform.
"The act of TELNETing through one or more hosts in order to confuse a trace (a standard cracker procedure)." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

letter bomb / letterbomb

Malicious / disruptive code delivered via an email message (and / or an attachment to said message).

"A piece of email containing live data intended to do malicious things to the recipient's machine or terminal. Under UNIX, a letterbomb can also try to get part of its contents interpreted as a shell command to the mailer. The results of this could range from silly to tragic." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

logic bomb

The term for a mischievous / destructive piece of software (cf. virus, Trojan horse which lies resident on the victim computer / system until 'triggered' by a specific event (e.g., onset of a predetermined date or set of system conditions).

"A logic bomb is unauthorized code that creates havoc when a particular event occurs, e.g. the perpetrator's name is deleted from the payroll or a certain date occurs." (GAO, Information Security: Computer Attacks at Department of Defense Pose Increasing Risks, Report GAO/AIMD-96-84, 1996)
"A resident computer program which, when executed, checks for particular conditions or particular states of the system which, when satisfied, triggers the perpetration of an unauthorized act." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

mail bomb / mailbomb

Unlike 'logic bomb' (a thing), 'mail bomb' is a verb used to connote deliberately deluging a target system / host with email messages for purposes of harassment, degradation of service, or even denial of service.

"The mail sent to surge others to send, massive amounts of email to a single system or person with the intent to crash the recipient's system. Mailbombing is widely regarded as a serious offense." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

mail storm / mailstorm

What the target system / users see when being mail bombed. Any large amount of incoming email sufficient to disrupt or bog down normal local operations.

"What often happens when a machine with an Internet connection and active users re-connects after extended downtime --- a flood of incoming mail that brings the machine to its knees." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

MASINT

Acronym for measurement and signature intelligence.

measurement and signature intelligence

"Scientific and technical intelligence obtained by quantitative and qualitative analysis of data (metric, angle, spatial, wavelength, time dependence, modulation, plasma, and hydromagnetic) derived from specific technical sensors for the purpose of identifying any distinctive features associated with the source, emitter, or sender and to facilitate subsequent identification and/or measurement of the same. Also called MASINT." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

MEII

Acronym for minimum essential information infrastructure.

message

"Any thought or idea expressed briefly in a plain or secret language and prepared in a form suitable for transmission by any means of communication." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

Note that this DOD definition is neither the most intuitive nor the most consistent with colloquial or technical usages for this term.

MIE

Acronym for military information environment.

military deception

"Actions executed to deliberately mislead adversary military decisionmakers as to friendly military capabilities, intentions, and operations, thereby causing the adversary to take specific actions (or inactions) that will contribute to the accomplishment of the friendly mission. The five categories of military deception are:

strategic military deception -- Military deception planned and executed by and in support of senior military commanders to result in adversary military policies and actions that support the originator's strategic military objectives, policies, and operations.
operational military deception -- Military deception planned and executed by and in support of operational-level commanders to result in adversary actions that are favorable to the originator's objectives and operations. Operational military deception is planned and conducted in a theater of war to support campaigns and major operations.
tactical military deception--Military deception planned and executed by and in support of tactical commanders to result in adversary actions that are favorable to the originator's objectives and operations. Tactical military deception is planned and conducted to support battles and engagements.
Service military deception -- Military deception planned and executed by the Services that pertain to Service support to joint operations. Service military deception is designed to protect and enhance the combat capabilities of Service forces and systems.
military deception in support of operations security (OPSEC) -- Military deception planned and executed by and in support of all levels of command to support the prevention of the inadvertent compromise of sensitive or classified activities, capabilities, or intentions. Deceptive OPSEC measures are designed to distract foreign intelligence away from, or provide cover for, military operations and activities."
(DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

military information environment

Acronym = MIE.

"the environment contained within the global information environment, consisting of information systems and organizations -- friendly and adversary, military and nonmilitary -- that support, enable, or significantly influence a specific military operation." (U.S. Army Field Manual 100-6, Information Operations, 1996)

military information function

"Any information function supporting and enhancing the employment of military forces." (Widnall & Fogleman, 1995) Cf. same authors' definition for information function.

military technical revolution (MTR)

A term from Soviet military theorization of the late 1970's. It denotes the phenomenon where "...extreme transformations in warfare occurred as a result of the exploitation of technology." (Lee, 1994, p. 3, credited to Krepenivich, 1992, p. 3) The Soviets "...saw the operational and organizational innovations resulting from the exploitation of the technology as defining a military technical revolution." (Ibid.). Abbreviated 'MTR'.

minimum essential information infrastructure (MEII)

A label for the least set of own-force information assets which can serve to support a given mission or operation. Abbreviated 'MEII'.

misuse detection

The class of intrusion detection tactics which proceed on the presumption that problematical intrusions (e.g., attacks) can be positively characterized, and that detection of their characteristic 'profile' is sufficient for identifying potential threats. Cf. anomaly detection.

"The concept behind misuse detection schemes is that there are ways to represent attacks in the form of a pattern or a signature so that even variations of the same attack can be detected. This means that these systems are not unlike virus detection systems -- they can detect many or all known attack patterns, but they are of little use for as yet unknown attack methods. An interesting point to note is that anomaly detection systems try to detect the complement of "good" behavior. Misuse detection systems try to recognize known "bad" behavior. The main issues in misuse detection systems are how to write a signature that encompasses all possible variations of the pertinent attack, and how to write signatures that do not also match non-intrusive activity."
(Aurobindo Sundaram, An Introduction to Intrusion Detection)

mockingbird

"A computer program or process which mimics the legitimate behavior of a normal system feature (or other apparently useful function) but performs malicious activities once invoked by the user." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

MTR

Acronym for military technical revolution.

National Information Infrastructure (NII)

A general label for the composite network of data / information systems and connectivity channels which serve as the foundation for US economic, political, and military operations. Abbreviated 'NII'.

navigation warfare

A term for activities directed toward disrupting, degrading, or denying the adversary's capabilities for geographical location, tracking, and control (i.e., navigation) based on such capabilities. This term is currently used specifically to connote those EW and IW (counter-)measures involving the Global Positioning System (GPS) network of satellites and / or terrestrial / airborne / shipborne receivers.

Acronym = NAVWAR

netwar

A synonym for cyberwar (cf. Libicki, 1995 -- "conflict in the virtual realm")
A superset of information warfare (cf. Szafranski, 1995, p. 58).
Arquilla and Ronfeldt (1993) use the term more specifically, stating it is "societal-level ideational conflicts waged in part through internetted modes of communication" and that it "applies to societal struggles most often associated with low intensity conflict by non-state actors, such as terrorists, drug cartels, or black market proliferators of weapons of mass destruction." They apply this version of the term to categorize tactics aimed at information dominance (cf. Morton, 1995).

network spoofing

"In network spoofing a system presents itself to the network as though it were a different system (system A impersonates system B by sending B's address instead of its own). The reason for doing this is that systems tend to operate within a group of other "trusted" systems. Trust is imparted in a one-to-one fashion; system A trusts system B (this does not imply that system B trusts system A). Implied with this trust, is that the system administrator of the trusted system is performing his job properly and maintaining an appropriate level of security for his system. Network spoofing occurs in the following manner: if system A trusts system B and system C spoofs (impersonates) system B, then system C can gain otherwise denied access to system A."

(Bassham & Polk, 1992)

network worm

A worm which migrates across platforms over a network by copying itself from one system to another by exploiting common network facilities, resulting in execution of the (replicated) worm on that system and potentially others.

Cf. worm

NII

Acronym for National Information Infrastructure.

O-O-D-A Loop (also OODA Loop)

Observation, Orientation, Decision, Action loop (cited by many and ascribed to Boyd, 1987). See definition under the primary spelling (OODA).

offensive counterinformation

"Actions against the adversary's information functions." (Widnall & Fogleman, 1995)

OODA Loop (also O-O-D-A Loop)

Observation, Orientation, Decision, Action Loop (cited by many and ascribed to Boyd, 1987). Taken to describe a single iteration of the cycle proceeding from data acquisition, through information integration and decision making, to enaction of a response. Disruption or other damage to the OODA loop (cf. Mann, 1994, on Desert Storm) is a common way of portraying the goal and/or main effect of IW. Also spelled O-O-D-A (per Boyd quote in Mann, 1994).

OOTW

Acronym for operations other than war -- i.e., missions carried out by the military which lie outside the scope of what is conventionally termed "war". Examples include humanitarian and police actions.

open-source intelligence

"Information of potential intelligence value that is available to the general public. Also called OSINT." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

operational intelligence

"Intelligence that is required for planning and conducting campaigns and major operations to accomplish strategic objectives within theaters or areas of operations." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

operations security

"A process of identifying critical information and subsequently analyzing friendly actions attendant to military operations and other activities to:

Identify those actions that can be observed by adversary intelligence systems.
Determine indicators hostile intelligence systems might obtain that could be interpreted or pieced together to derive critical information in time to be useful to adversaries.
Select and execute measures that eliminate or reduce to an acceptable level the vulnerabilities of friendly actions to adversary exploitation."

(DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

"A type of security that prevents and detects security breaches. With operations security, an organization can deny to potential adversaries information about capabilities and intentions by identifying, controlling, and protecting evidence of the planning and execution of sensitive activities and operations." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

Acronym = OPSEC.

opinion

"...a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter or particular matters. It may also be said to be an intellectually defined judgment of what is true for the individual or group. It may be more influenced by attitudes than facts." (US Army Field Manual 33-1 'Psychological Operations')

orientation

cf. OODA loop (Orientation is the second 'O').

"...an interactive process of many-sided implicit cross-referencing projections, empathies, correlations, and rejections that is shaped by and shapes the interplay of genetic heritage, cultural tradition, previous experiences, and unfolding circumstances." (Boyd, 1987, p. 211)
This phase, "...as the repository of our genetic heritage, cultural tradition, and previous experiences is the most important part of the O-O-D-A loop since it shapes the way we observe, the way we decide, the way we'act'. " (Boyd, 1987, p. 222, quoted in Mann, 1994, pp. 8-9). In this phase, the data fed forward from the Observe / Observation phase is 'digested', i.e., semantically analyzed and integrated into the system's operant description of its status with respect to its field of operations. The results of the Orient / Orientation phase feed forward to provide the foundation for the Decide / Decision phase.

OSINT

Acronym for open-source intelligence.

packet sniffer

"A device or program that monitors the data traveling between computers on a network." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

packet sniffing

"Packet sniffing is a technique in which attackers surreptitiously insert a software program at remote network switches or host computers. The program monitors information packets as they are sent through networks and sends a copy of the information retrieved to the hacker. By picking up the first 125 keystrokes of a connection, attackers can learn passwords and user identifications, which, in turn, they can use to break into systems." (GAO, Information Security: Computer Attacks at Department of Defense Pose Increasing Risks, Report GAO/AIMD-96-84, 1996)

passive attack

A form of attack in which data is 'released' (i.e., captured or obtained) from the target system.

"Attack which does not result in an unauthorized state change, such as an attack that only monitors and/or records data." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

passive threat

"The threat of unauthorized disclosure of information without changing the state of the system. A type of threat that involves the interception, not the alteration, of information." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

password cracking / password theft

"Password cracking is a technique used to surreptitiously gain system access by using another users account. Users often select weak password. The two major sources of weakness in passwords are easily guessed passwords based on knowledge of the user (e.g. wife's maiden name) and passwords that are susceptible to dictionary attacks (i.e.brute-force guessing of passwords using a dictionary as the source of guesses)."
(Bassham & Polk, 1992)
"Password cracking and theft is a technique in which attackers try to guess or steal passwords to obtain access to computer systems. This technique has been automated by attackers; rather than attackers trying to guess legitimate users' passwords, computers can very efficiently and systematically do the guessing. For example, if the password is a dictionary word, a computer can quickly look up all possibilities to find a match. Complex passwords comprised of alphanumeric characters are more difficult to crack. However, even with complex passwords, powerful computers can use brute force to compare all possible combinations of characters until a match is found."
(GAO, Information Security: Computer Attacks at Department of Defense Pose Increasing Risks, Report GAO/AIMD-96-84, 1996)

password sniffing

A form of sniffing which entails sampling specific portions of the data stream during a session (e.g., collecting a certain number of initial bytes where the password can be intercepted in unencrypted form on common Internet services) so as to obtain password data that can then be exploited.

penetration

With regard to IW: "A successful attack -- the ability to obtain unauthorized (undetected) access to files and programs or the control state of a computer system." (J.P. Anderson Co., Computer Security Threat Monitoring and Surveillance. Technical report, Fort Washington PA, April 1980.)
"The successful act of bypassing the security mechanisms; the unauthorized access to an automated system." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

penetration signature

"The description of a situation or set of conditions in which a penetration could occur or of system events which in conjunction can indicate the occurrence of a penetration in progress." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)

perception

"...the process of evaluating information which has been received and classified by the five physical senses (vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch) and interpreted by criteria of the culture and society." (US Army Field Manual 33-1 'Psychological Operations')

perception management

"Actions to convey and/or deny selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, and objective reasoning; and to intelligence systems and leaders at all levels to influence official estimates, ultimately resulting in foreign behaviors and official actions favorable to the originator's objectives. In various ways, perception management combines truth projection, operations security, cover and deception, and psychological operations." (DOD Dictionary of Military Terms)

phracker

"Individual who combines phone phreaking with computer hacking." (AFCERT Computer Glossary). Formed by a play on both phreaker and hacker.

phreak / phone phreak

A term for 'hacking' or 'cracking'-type exploitation directed at the telephone system (as opposed to the data communications networks). Where the intrusion / action involves both telephone and data communications networks, that portion of the intrusion activity directed toward manipulating the telephone system is typically called 'phreaking'.
"The act of employing technology to attack the public telephone system. The art and science of cracking the phone network." (AFCERT Computer Glossary)
A term for someone engaging in '(phone) phre

GLOSSARY:

The Convoluted Terminology of Information Warfare

Compiled by Randall Whitaker, Ph.D.

KEYWORDS:

Copyright © 1998 Randall Whitaker ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Except as follows....

This documentation may be freely copied for personal use, distributed, cited, etc., so long as author attribution is included. Inclusion of this document in any persistent product (e.g., rehosting / reposting on WWW) without author permission is expressly prohibited.

Copyright © 1998 Randall Whitaker
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Except as follows....