Information Warfare Principles and Operations

Rating:
Summary: Awesome book.
Review: Starts out a little dry, but it's the necessary building blocks for the rest of the book. This is a great end-to-end description of the science of IW. Good buy!

Rating:
Summary: A thorough introduction to a complex discipline
Review: This book presents an information warfare framework that is more aligned to national infrastructure and military systems protection than commercial enterprises. However, the framework and systematic discussion of all of the relevant elements of information warfare can be applied to any environment - commercial, government or military.

The framework itself is sound and is the foundation of any infowar readiness posture. The book emphasizes a readiness posture that is defensive in nature, and the approach set forth addresses both strategic and tactical defense considerations.

There are a three of interesting viewpoints provides, which is consistent with the systems engineering approach taken: (1) hierarchy of strategic components. These are presented topdown with defense and deterrence paths as follows: Policy, Strategy and Operational levels and Operational Influence Relationships. (2) A strategic process that encompasses development of strategy, threat analysis and assessment of effectiveness. (3) Operational model, comprised of perceptual, information and physical layers.

Issues such as MEII (Minimum Essential Information Infrastructure deployment and modes of operations are cogently discussed along with associated tactical responses (surveillance, mode control, auditing/forensic analysis and reporting). The conceptual and process framework is augmented by a solid discussion of security technologies that are still in the large as accurate and valid today as when the book was written in 1998.

What I especially like about this book, aside from the systems engineering approach and viewpoints, is the complete coverage of the full spectrum of information warfare, including more subtle issues such as data and knowledge analysis, the cursory examination of offensive operations (seeing the info war from a hostile's viewpoint), and the copious amount of detail provided for each of the topics and subjects associated with infowar.

This book is an excellent starting point for corporate security organs that have matured to the point where infowar defensive measures can be effectively addressed. Although infowar is an element of information security, the mindset for defense requires a vastly more mature security program than normal network and system security practices because the threats may not be strictly technical in nature. This book will prepare you for the realities of infowar and give you insights about how it can be incorporated into your security posture.

Rating:
Summary: A thorough introduction to a complex discipline
Review: This book presents an information warfare framework that is more aligned to national infrastructure and military systems protection than commercial enterprises. However, the framework and systematic discussion of all of the relevant elements of information warfare can be applied to any environment - commercial, government or military.

The framework itself is sound and is the foundation of any infowar readiness posture. The book emphasizes a readiness posture that is defensive in nature, and the approach set forth addresses both strategic and tactical defense considerations.

There are a three of interesting viewpoints provides, which is consistent with the systems engineering approach taken: (1) hierarchy of strategic components. These are presented topdown with defense and deterrence paths as follows: Policy, Strategy and Operational levels and Operational Influence Relationships. (2) A strategic process that encompasses development of strategy, threat analysis and assessment of effectiveness. (3) Operational model, comprised of perceptual, information and physical layers.

Issues such as MEII (Minimum Essential Information Infrastructure deployment and modes of operations are cogently discussed along with associated tactical responses (surveillance, mode control, auditing/forensic analysis and reporting). The conceptual and process framework is augmented by a solid discussion of security technologies that are still in the large as accurate and valid today as when the book was written in 1998.

What I especially like about this book, aside from the systems engineering approach and viewpoints, is the complete coverage of the full spectrum of information warfare, including more subtle issues such as data and knowledge analysis, the cursory examination of offensive operations (seeing the info war from a hostile's viewpoint), and the copious amount of detail provided for each of the topics and subjects associated with infowar.

This book is an excellent starting point for corporate security organs that have matured to the point where infowar defensive measures can be effectively addressed. Although infowar is an element of information security, the mindset for defense requires a vastly more mature security program than normal network and system security practices because the threats may not be strictly technical in nature. This book will prepare you for the realities of infowar and give you insights about how it can be incorporated into your security posture.