Introduction
The critical role that information plays in warfare is well known and has been adequately documented over millennia. In days of yore, rulers laid great stress on intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance as part of their war fighting philosophy. Kautilya’s magnum opus, Arthashastra, written about 2300 years ago, provides a detailed account of intelligence collection, processing, consumption, and covert operations, as indispensable means for maintaining and expanding the security and power of the state. In those times, extensive use was made of spies to gather information. That process continues till date.
The means used till about the beginning of the nineteenth century to deliver orders in the battlefield was through runners who would convey instructions and information from position to position and commander to soldiers in the midst of battle. Drums, horns, flags, and riders on horseback were some of the other methods the military used to send messages over distances. This has changed in modern times with the discovery and understanding of electromagnetic waves since the early nineteenth century. Today, advancements made in communication technology have radically altered the way we communicate with each other. The information revolution has been led by the ongoing rapid evolution of cyberspace, microcomputers, and associated information technologies. Alongside the rapid advancements made in communication technology, phenomenal developments have taken place in long range precision weapon systems. The merger of these technologies, when coopted into revised military organisations, structures and doctrine, has given rise to what is popularly called the RMA or Revolution in Military Affairs. This has led to the evolution of C4I2SR systems, an acronym for integrating Command, Control, Communications, Computers (C4), Information, Intelligence (I2) Surveillance and Reconnaissance (SR) systems into a system of systems. This implies a group of functionalities and applications of a defence system to integrate weapon platforms with surveillance stations and decision making structures.
The Communication Revolution
We are living today in the information age. The shift from traditional industry, established by the industrial revolution, to an economy primarily based upon information technology, started sometime in the mid twentieth century. Also known as the digital age, the information age is characterised by the use of computers and smart phones, which has enabled individuals and organisations to communicate with each other and share information across a wide spectrum of requirements such as terrain mapping, weather forecasting, data transfer and a host of other applications. This has been made possible by positioning satellites in space, which communicate with earth stations to provide a host of facilities all across the globe in real time. Advancements in communication technologies also provide a host of military applications, enabling precision engagement of long distance targets and giving rise to the possibility of conducting military operations at the speed of thought.
Information in the modern age is thus vital for all aspects of human endeavour, to include governance, business, agriculture, economy—practically every aspect of modern life. The digitisation of information based processes has led to practical applications in all forms of governance. As an example, in India, the 'Jan Dhan Yojana' scheme has led to financial inclusion for millions of households who earlier had no access to banking facilities. Launched in 2014, the scheme, now having completed eight years, has over 46 crore beneficiaries, whose deposits are in excess of Rs 1.73 lakh crore. Similarly, India's Covid vaccine programme was based on digital technology, through the digital platform, 'CO-WIN'. This user friendly mobile app for recording vaccine data is working as a beneficiary management platform having various modules. Similarly, information based digital systems are presently being used for complex management systems and infrastructures involving the control of electric power, money flow, air traffic, oil and gas, and other information-dependent items. The security and effective operation of critical infrastructure in the energy, banking and finance, transportation, communication, and the Defense Industrial Base domain, rely on cyberspace, industrial control systems, and information technology that may be vulnerable to disruption or exploitation if adversaries attempt to damage them using Information Warfare techniques. This could potentially paralyse a nations functioning and hence the need to protect such systems becomes paramount.
Information based systems also have tremendous military applications which are vital to a nation's war fighting potential. There would be a need to protect own networks which are required for command and control, precision target engagement over long distances, battlefield transparency, remote sensing, terrain mapping and a host of other military requirements. Protecting own information means and attacking those of the enemy are hence an essential component of modern day war-fighting. The latter operation involves both hard and soft kill options. As an example, the physical destruction of a satellite or earth stations would be part of the hard kill, whereas making systems unusable through non-kinetic means would form part of the soft kill options. Information Warfare thus deals with three major prongs: One, the denial and protection of information, two, the exploitation and ability to attack enemy information and data systems, (which also embraces electronic warfare) and three, deception by various means to include spoofing, imitation and distortion.
Besides the above, the fourth related field for information warfare involves the specific targeting of the minds of a select or indiscriminate audience, so as to influence the attitudes and behaviour patterns of large population segments into a favoured direction. This has become possible because digital technology has enabled the common citizen to receive and transmit information from multiple sources—a function which was earlier solely the preserve of the state and perhaps of a few large media houses. This democratisation of information has led to the ability to influence or shape the attitudes and perceptions of entire populations as part of a war fighting strategy. Also referred to as perception management, the aim, whether in war or peace, is to influence the perceptions, attitudes and behaviour of selected individuals or groups so as to achieve political or military objectives while preventing effective use of these activities by an enemy or adversary. Such operations could have tactical, operational or strategic impact.
A recent example of use of Information Warfare is the ongoing conflict in Russia, which began on 24 February 2022 and is still continuing. In the early stages of the war, the Russian military disabled or destroyed a large part of the electronic communication infrastructure of Ukraine, prompting Ukraine's President Zelenskyy to appeal to Elon Musk for help. Mr Musk immediately responded to the request by making his Starlink satellite services available to Ukraine, providing SpaceX's Starlink internet access service to the beleaguered nation. Starlink is currently providing critical communication lifeline to Ukraine's government, military and civilians despite persistent Russian bombing of traditional telecommunication infrastructures across Ukraine, serving as a vital communication line and complementing precarious traditional telecommunication infrastructures. As of September 2022, there were 23,000 Starlink terminals in Ukraine.
Strategic Imperatives
Perception management by most nations and their militaries revolve around the tactical and operational aspects with the limited aim of inducing enemy troops to surrender or to desert. The need is, however, for having a larger strategic focus within which the tactical and operational narratives must play a part. The US led information campaign aimed at undermining Communism during the Cold War is an apt example of a successfully conducted perception management campaign with a strategic focus.
As Josef Joffe, editor of Die Zeit has written, “Unlike centuries past, when war was the great arbiter, today the most interesting types of power do not come out of the barrel of a gun”. Elaborating further, Joseph Nye states that bigger payoffs can be achieved by “getting others to want what you want”. Perception management operations can be one of the primary ways of achieving that objective. In the Indian context, an effective perception management strategy could lead to conflict resolution in a faster time frame in those areas afflicted by terrorism and insurgency. Insurgent and terrorist networks, in a sense could be likened to the demon Raktabīja, mentioned in Hindu scriptures. The demon was blessed with a boon that whenever a drop of his blood fell on the ground, a duplicate Raktabīja would be born at that spot. To finally kill the demon, Goddess Kali had to stretch her tongue all across the worlds to prevent the blood from spilling on the ground. In relation to insurgencies, this blood represents the public support that insurgents need to survive. Once separated from that support, insurgencies will wither and die. Perception management can be used effectively for that purpose.
It must however be understood that perception management is not a substitute for capability. As an example, in the absence of hard power, deterrence will not succeed, regardless of the effectiveness of the perception management campaign. In advertising terms, the product has to live up to its brand image, otherwise it will lose its credibility. This also implies that the actions of the Armed Forces while engaged in military operations must be in consonance with the perception management campaign and the strategic narrative must not be lost sight of. The strategic narrative remains focussed on end-term goal realisations while operational and tactical level narratives are more focussed towards the immediacy of the conflict situation. While the tactical and operational level narratives are important, they must not run counter to the long-term aims of the country.
Conclusion
Information Warfare as a war-winning factor is not a new concept, having been extensively applied in battles over the past few millennia. But its modern day application is a product of advancements made in communication technology and long range precision weapon systems, along with a concept which is relatively new, which is shaping perceptions of an entire population through the social media, audio-visual networks and the print media. In the information age, the shaping and influencing of opinions of target populations can give handsome returns and can lead to conflict resolution on favourable terms. It is however not a stand alone concept and must be applied with other instruments of state power to achieve the desired results.
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