Information Warfare

Information has always been a critical factor in war. Clausewitz said "imperfect knowledge of the situation...can bring military action to a standstill." Sun Tzu indicated information is inherent in warfighting. Information warfare embodies the impact of information on military operations.





The computer age gives us the capability to absorb, evaluate, use and transmit and exchange large volumes of information at high speeds to multiple recipients simultaneously. Multiple sources of data can be correlated faster than ever. Thus, the value of information to the warfighter has been magnified to a new level.





Churchill used information warfare when he used the ENIGMA machine to read German codes during World War II. He also used information warfare through his elaborate network emanating from the London Controlling Section, for its time a very complex intelligence and deception operation.