Information Technology (IT) is affecting almost all spheres of life. Individuals and societies worldwide, have to adjust to its continuous impact. The military is no exception. Traditional concepts are increasingly becoming outdated. There arises the need for new military thinking, dubbed Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA). The core of RMA is information warfare, which has various versions and stages such as network-centric warfare (NCW), knowledge-centric warfare (KCW), etc. Today, it is entirely possible to `defeat' a militarily powerful enemy by manipulating its command and control (C2) information. Since, the defence establishments have come to depend on computer networks to speedily coordinate commands to their armed forces and guide "smart weapons" and a whole array of other tasks, paralyzing or corrupting their computer data with a successful "cyber attack" would lead to "defeat" without having a shot fired. In the light of the above reality, the conventional concepts of the laws of war turn out to be inadequate. Definitions of terms , such as "war", "armed conflict", "use of force" and "attack", need thorough revision. For instance, it is conceivable that a cyber attack is launched by civilian experts on the government without direct involvement. The attack on computers are in the civilian, even commercial, and private domain. An attack on key targets such as power supply, transportation, health care, banking and financial transactions and military C2, would lead to a catastrophe on an unthinkable scale. It would be equivalent to consequences unleashed by an attack with weapons of mass destruction (WMD). But would such an "attack" qualify as such under International Law? The latter needs "platform-centric warfare", "kinetics" (use of traditional force or violence), and engagement of the military to be activated. In our hypothetical case, no trace of these indicators are to be found. The need of the hour, hence, is to switch to "effects-based" legal concepts.
Information Technology (IT) today, is galloping at a speed that leaves us all stunned. The tiny silicon chip has revolutionized world connectivity. Its ubiquitous presence is transforming life faster than man can cope with. Computers, cell phones, satellite-fed digital TV, and numerous other "smart" gadgets, which are appearing on the market almost daily, are impacting lives and modifying social behavior. Products like Google Earth or Wikimapia have enabled the common man to easily access satellite view of his own home or workplace, or any other region of the world, including the sensitive military sites worldwide. Such satellite imaging had hitherto been the exclusive "top secret" preserve of the military. Marshall McLuhan's prediction of a "world village" is now a literal truth, thanks to Bluetooth and other technologies, which promote connectivity among devices like never before. One statistic puts the number of Internet users to 200 million as of 2001. As of that year, the number of websites doubled every 37 days.
Little wonder, then, that such blitz advance in high-tech will also impact the military. Defense establishments worldwide, led by the USA, are engaged willy-nilly in devising means and methods of not merely fighting a messy conventional war but also a `clean', virtual war that will digitally leave the enemy paralyzed and defeated, without firing a shot. Digital defense against such an attack must also be set up to help preserve normal functioning of the society. |
