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1 1 (January 14, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govbevz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: F. , ' iE ,E .$r . i , Defense Primer: Information Operations While there is currently no official U.S. government (USG) definition of information warfare (IW), practitioners typically conceptualize it as a strategy for the use and management of information to pursue a competitive advantage, including both offensive and defensive operations. Strategy can be defined as the process of planning to achieve objectives and goals in the national interest. Operations link strategic objectives with tactics, techniques, and procedures. For IW strategy, that link is information operations (JO). Past definitions within the DOD have conceptualized JO as a purely military activity involving a set of tactics or capabilities. In DOD Joint Publication (JP) 3-13 and the JO Roadmap, JO consisted of five pillars: computer network operations (CNO), which include computer network attack, computer network defense, and computer network exploitation; psychological operations (PSYOP); electronic warfare (EW); operations security (OPSEC); and military deception (MILDEC). With the advent of U.S. Cyber Command, CNO became cyberspace operations, offensive and defensive with its own doctrine in JP 3-12. In 2010, PSYOP became military information support operations (MISO), to reflect a broader range of activities and the existing Military Information Support Teams consisting of PSYOP personnel deployed at U.S. embassies overseas. Joint Publication 3-13.2 replaced the term PSYOP with MISO to more accurately reflect and convey the nature of planned peacetime or combat operations activities. The name change reportedly caused administrative confusion, and the services are beginning to revert to the PSYOP label. The Secretary of Defense characterizes JO in JP 3-13 as the integrated employment, during military operations, of information-related capabilities in concert with other lines of operation to influence, disrupt, corrupt, or usurp the decision making of adversaries and potential adversaries while protecting our own. This definition shifted the focus from a set of tactics toward the desired effects and how to achieve them. JP 3-13 defines information-related capability (IRC) as a tool, technique, or activity employed within a dimension of the information environment that can be used to create effects and operationally desirable conditions. Strategic communication, public diplomacy and public and civil affairs, and cyberspace operations may be considered supporting capabilities. These efforts may take place in and throughout each of the global domains of air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace, and in various forms unrelated to cyberspace such as dropping pamphlets, cultural exchanges, jamming or broadcasting targeted communications, and foreign aid programs. Military Information Support - mmm, go mppm qq\ , q I aS 11LULANJILiN, Updated January 14, 2020 Operations are one of Special Operations Forces' (SOF's) core activities, but 1O is not the exclusive purview of SOF. All of these activities take place within the information environment, which is the aggregate of individuals, organizations, and systems that collect, disseminate, or act on information. This consists of three dimensions: the physical dimension, where information overlaps with the physical world; the information dimension, where information is collected, processed, stored, disseminated, displayed, and protected, including both the content and the flow of information between nodes; and the cognitive dimension, where human decisionmaking takes place based upon how information is perceived. All instruments of national power-diplomatic, informational, military, and economic (DIME)-can be projected and employed in the information environment, and by nonmilitary elements of the federal government. In common parlance, the term disinformation campaign is often used interchangeably with information operations. However, disinformation or deception is only one of the informational tools that comprise an IW strategy; factual information can also be used to achieve strategic goals and in some cases more effectively than deceptive means. Different categories of information that may be used in 1O include the following: Propaganda: This means the propagation of an idea or narrative that is intended to influence, similar to psychological or influence operations. It can be misleading but true, and may include stolen information. A government communicating its intent, policies, and values through speeches, press releases, and other public affairs can be considered propaganda. Misinformation: This is the spreading of unintentionally false information. Examples include Internet trolls who spread unfounded conspiracy theories or web hoaxes through social media, believing them to be true. Disinformation: Unlike misinformation, disinformation is intentionally false. Examples include planting false news stories in the media and tampering with private and/or classified communications before their widespread release. Cyberspace presents a force multiplier for IW activities. Social media and botnets can amplify a message or narrative, using all three elements of information to foment discord and confusion in a target audience. Much of today's 1O is conducted in cyberspace, leading many to associate 1O with cybersecurity. Within DOD, however, JO and cyberspace operations are distinct doctrinal activities. K~:>

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