Electronic or "cyber" warfare holds the promise of destroying
an army’s-or even a whole nation’s--ability to function without hurting human
life. The technology is reaching the point, however, where cyber warfare may be
decisive in its own right. 46) In highly centralized military operations,
communications and data management have become essential tools linking
individual small units and the central command structure.
The neutron bomb is one of the most horrid weapons ever devised: It
doesn’t damage property; it only kills higher life-forms. 47) Wouldn’t the
opposite be wonderful, a device like the robot’s ray in The Day the Earth Stood
Stills which melts down weapons but not soldiers Electronic or "cyber"
warfare--hacking into an enemy’s computers, jamming radio transmissions, and
tile like. The United States has very good electronic warfare
capabilities, but has used them only to support conventional military
operations. 48) Before we imagine what such a "cyberwar" scenario might be
like, let’s briefly look at how electronic warfare
developed. During the Civil War, operations conducted by the
Union army against the Confederate telegraph system foretold modern
twentieth-century electronic warfare. Union operatives penetrated Confederate
lines to tap into and read military traffic on the Confederate telegraph system.
49) Not only did these operations yield valuable intelligence information,
but some operators even began sending bogus messages to sow confusion in
the Confederate ranks. Just before World War I, radio
communication seemed like a real boon to naval operations because it allowed
ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore communications, especially in bad weather. Before
this time, flags or light blinkers with limited range provided the only means of
communication between ships. Naval ship captains, however, were
aware that a sophisticated set of shore-based equipment could locate ships by
their radio transmission. By listening to the transmissions, the enemy could
ascertain the number and type of ships even if they could not decode actual
messages. For this reason, the U. S. Navy was particularly resistant to using
radio. However, U. S. military observers aboard British warships soon saw that
the tactical advantages of radio outweighed the intelligence losses.
Electronic warfare grew rapidly in World War II with the advent of radar.
50) Monitoring radar frequencies allowed spoofing or jamming of enemy radar
and led to major units and equipment devoted solely to countermeasures and
counter-countermeasures. Gathering intelligence from radio transmissions
also increased greatly. Today, every modem nation has the
capability to monitor, jam, or otherwise interfere with an adversary’s radio
communications. Most nations have also developed jam-resistant communications
and intelligence-gathering equipment. Electronic or "cyber"
warfare holds the promise of destroying an army’s-or even a whole
nation’s--ability to function without hurting human life. The technology is
reaching the point, however, where cyber warfare may be decisive in its own
right. 46) In highly centralized military operations, communications and data
management have become essential tools linking individual small units and the
central command structure. The neutron bomb is one of the most
horrid weapons ever devised: It doesn’t damage property; it only kills higher
life-forms. 47) Wouldn’t the opposite be wonderful, a device like the robot’s
ray in The Day the Earth Stood Stills which melts down weapons but not soldiers
Electronic or "cyber" warfare--hacking into an enemy’s computers, jamming radio
transmissions, and tile like. The United States has very good
electronic warfare capabilities, but has used them only to support conventional
military operations. 48 ) Before we imagine what such a "cyberwar" scenario
might be like, let’s briefly look at how electronic warfare
developed. During the Civil War, operations conducted by the
Union army against the Confederate telegraph system foretold modern
twentieth-century electronic warfare. Union operatives penetrated Confederate
lines to tap into and read military traffic on the Confederate telegraph system.
49 ) Not only did these operations yield valuable intelligence information, but
some operators even began sending bogus messages to sow confusion in the
Confederate ranks. Just before World War I, radio communication
seemed like a real boon to naval operations because it allowed ship-to-ship and
ship-to-shore communications, especially in bad weather. Before this time, flags
or light blinkers with limited range provided the only means of communication
between ships. Naval ship captains, however, were aware that a
sophisticated set of shore-based equipment could locate ships by their radio
transmission. By listening to the transmissions, the enemy could ascertain the
number and type of ships even if they could not decode actual messages. For this
reason, the U. S. Navy was particularly resistant to using radio. However, U. S.
military observers aboard British warships soon saw that the tactical advantages
of radio outweighed the intelligence losses. Electronic warfare
grew rapidly in World War II with the advent of radar. 50 ) Monitoring radar
frequencies allowed spoofing or jamming of enemy radar and led to major units
and equipment devoted solely to countermeasures and counter-countermeasures.
Gathering intelligence from radio transmissions also increased
greatly. Today, every modem nation has the capability to
monitor, jam, or otherwise interfere with an adversary’s radio communications.
Most nations have also developed jam-resistant communications and
intelligence-gathering equipment.