iWar is the term used by NATO to describe a form of Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

-based warfare.

iWar comparisons

iWar is distinct from cyber-warfare

Cyber-warfare

Cyberwarfare refers to politically motivated hacking to conduct sabotage and espionage. It is a form of information warfare sometimes seen as analogous to conventional warfare although this analogy is controversial for both its accuracy and its political motivation.Government security expert...

, cyber-terrorism

Cyber-terrorism

Cyberterrorism is the use of Internet based attacks in terrorist activities, including acts of deliberate, large-scale disruption of computer networks, especially of personal computers attached to the Internet, by the means of tools such as computer viruses....

 and information warfare

Information warfare

The term Information Warfare is primarily an American concept involving the use and management of information technology in pursuit of a competitive advantage over an opponent...

. These refer to sensitive military

Military

A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

 and critical infrastructure

Infrastructure

Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...

 assets, and to battlefield communications and satellite

Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....

 intelligence. iWar refers to attacks carried out over the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 that target the consumer

Consumer

Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...

 Internet infrastructure, for example: website

Website

A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...

s that provide access to online services.

iWar attack

iWar is conducted by a denial-of-service attack

Denial-of-service attack

A denial-of-service attack or distributed denial-of-service attack is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users...

, which bombards a high volume of information requests to overwhelm a computer or networking system on the Internet.

iWar in the future

The two trends of increasing vulnerability over the Internet and ease of attack make conflagration of iWar probable.

See also

Augmented reality Augmented reality Augmented reality is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is... Black propaganda Black propaganda Black propaganda is false information and material that purports to be from a source on one side of a conflict, but is actually from the opposing side. It is typically used to vilify, embarrass or misrepresent the enemy... Biologically Inspired Tactical Security Infrastructure Biologically Inspired Tactical Security Infrastructure Biologically Inspired Tactical Security Infrastructure is a system to detect and prepare computer damage in the battlespace.... C4ISTAR C4ISTAR In military usage, a number of abbreviations in the format C followed by additional letters are used, based on expanded versions of the abbreviation C2 - command and control.C2I stands for command, control, and intelligence.... Command and control warfare Command and control warfare Command and control warfare encompasses all the military tactics that use communications technology. It can be abbreviated as . An older name for these tactics is signals warfare, derived from the name given to communications by the military.... Communications security Communications security Communications security is the discipline of preventing unauthorized interceptors from accessing telecommunications in an intelligible form, while still delivering content to the intended recipients. In the United States Department of Defense culture, it is often referred to by the abbreviation... Computer insecurity Computer insecurity Computer insecurity refers to the concept that a computer system is always vulnerable to attack, and that this fact creates a constant battle between those looking to improve security, and those looking to circumvent security.-Security and systems design:...

Disinformation Disinformation Disinformation is intentionally false or inaccurate information that is spread deliberately. For this reason, it is synonymous with and sometimes called black propaganda. It is an act of deception and false statements to convince someone of untruth... Electronic warfare Electronic warfare Electronic warfare refers to any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults via the spectrum. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent the advantage of, and ensure friendly... Information Operations Condition Information Operations Condition -Descriptions of INFOCONs:INFOCON is a threat level system in the United States similar to that of FPCON... Information Operations Roadmap Information Operations Roadmap The Information Operations Roadmap is a document commissioned by the Pentagon in 2003 and declassified in January 2006. The document was personally approved by former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and describes the United States Military's approach to Information warfare, with an emphasis... Information warfare Information warfare The term Information Warfare is primarily an American concept involving the use and management of information technology in pursuit of a competitive advantage over an opponent...  (IW) Network-centric warfare Network-centric warfare Network-centric warfare, also called network-centric operations, is a military doctrine or theory of war pioneered by the United States Department of Defense in the 1990's.... Web brigades Web brigades The web brigades is a conspiracy theory that says there exist online teams of commentators linked to Russian security services that participate in political blogs and Internet forums to promote disinformation and prevent free discussions of undesirable subjects...

Further reading

• Wang, Xiangsui et al. (2002). Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America. Pan American Publishing Company. ISBN 097168072
• Ventre Daniel (2009). Information Warfare. Wiley ISTE. ISBN 9781848210943
• Ventre Daniel (2011). Cyberwar and Information Warfare. Wiley ISTE.

External links

• IWS - The Information Warfare Site
• Institute for the Advanced Study of Information Warfare (IASIW)