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ABSTRACT

INFORMATION WARS

Introduction

Conclusion

Introduction

The relevance of research in the field of information warfare (IW), the versatility of the forms and methods of this work in scientific and practical terms is determined by the fact that today any country in the world needs to create an effective system of state counteraction to information-psychological warfare (IW) operations. It is no secret that in our time many states consider information warfare as an effective tool for implementing foreign policy.

Information and psychological warfare makes it possible to have an intense impact on various processes at almost all levels of government and social structure in any country or region. information psychological confrontation technology

The set of problems in this area is explained by the discrepancy between the objective need to create such a system and the low degree of readiness of modern society to actively resist any attempts to manipulate public consciousness. The fact is that the mass consciousness of citizens has not yet fully formed an understanding of the threat that modern communication technologies can pose with their hidden information and psychological impact. Especially if you use them for political purposes.

There is also another issue motivating our research. We are talking about the discrepancy between the pace of development of special technologies of information-psychological aggression and technologies of psychological protection of consciousness, value systems and mental health of society.

The purpose of this work is to most fully disclose the meaning of the latest communication technologies during confrontations and conflicts in modern society with an analysis of their use and use as weapons in modern information wars.

The object of the study is complex information flows, which represent the basis of such a phenomenon as modern information wars.

The subject of study is the latest communication technologies used as a means of waging information wars in modern society.

To achieve the goal set in the work, the following tasks are determined:

1. Define the essence of the concept of “information war”.

2. Identify ways to use CNT as a means of conducting information warfare.

3. Study the “front lines” of the information war.

1. The essence of information-psychological confrontation

The history of wars and the art of war clearly demonstrates that the outcome of armed events ultimately depends on two factors: material and moral. Even in ancient times, the most talented commanders clearly understood that it was necessary to fight the enemy not only with armed means, but also through targeted influence on the consciousness, will, feelings and moods of people and tried to use means of psychological influence to weaken the morale and combat power of the enemy. This took into account the simple fact that no one has ever managed to achieve the active and selfless participation of absolutely all military personnel in carrying out the combat missions assigned to them. A number of studies show that only 15-25% of them conduct targeted fire at the enemy, move across the battlefield, and carry out orders from commanders. A significant part of them, being in the grip of the instinct of self-preservation and negative experiences, often strive to avoid participating in hostilities. For this, methods such as feigning illness, self-harm, disabling military equipment, leaving the battlefield without permission under various pretexts (including for evacuating wounded colleagues to the rear), desertion, etc. are widely used. Some warriors use up the ammunition they have within the first minutes of the battle, others complete participation in the battle without using a single cartridge.

The efforts of commanders, staffs, and special bodies that have the necessary means and are proficient in methods of conducting information and psychological warfare are currently being directed to artificially induce enemy personnel to take such actions. Such confrontation in the armies of many countries is considered an independent type (method) of combat operations, allowing one to achieve military goals without the use of lethal means.

In this regard, one cannot help but note the emergence of a new phenomenon in the content of war: the blurring of the lines between military and non-military means of struggle, when the high efficiency of “information warfare” means, combined with the use of high-precision weapons and “non-military means of influence,” makes it possible to disorganize the system of government and defeat strategically important objects and troop groups, influence the psyche, suppress the morale of the population. That is, the effect of using these means is comparable to the damage caused by weapons of mass destruction.”

Recent combat events convincingly indicate that the technology of warfare aimed at achieving victory must, along with the means of destruction and physical destruction of the enemy, necessarily include special means of misinformation, reducing moral and psychological stability, paralyzing the will to resist, creating a favorable socio-political situation in the combat zone.

In this regard, the readiness of commanders, staffs, educational bodies to skillfully organize counteraction and protection of troops from the enemy’s psychological operations and information and psychological impact on the personnel of his units and formations is a necessary condition for the successful solution by units and formations of the combat missions assigned to them in modern combat .

Revolutionary changes in the field of sciences about the patterns of functioning of the human psyche, mass information processes, widespread mass communication systems (satellite and cable television, fiber-optic communication lines and computer networks, VHF and CB radio stations), technological breakthroughs in printing technology, achievements in the field of “non-lethal” weapons determine a sharp increase in the interest of military leaders of many armies of the world in information and psychological warfare as an integral part of armed struggle .

However, despite the high relevance of this problem, its theoretical justification leaves much to be desired. Currently, in literary sources, scientific works and guidance documents in our country and abroad, terms such as “psychological warfare”, “information warfare”, “psychological operations”, “psychological warfare”, “information-psychological confrontation” are widely used. "", "information-psychological counteraction and protection of troops from the enemy's psychological operations", "psychological cover of troops", "psychological protection", information-psychological support of combat operations" etc. For example, in the USA, FM field regulations are currently in force 100-6 “Information operations”, FM 33-1 “Psychological operations”, FM 31-20 “Operational technology of special warfare”, at the same time specialists are being trained in the field of information warfare. All this does not contribute to progress in understanding an objectively existing phenomenon - confrontation in the information-psychological sphere between conflicting forces.

This paper attempts to overcome conceptual contradictions and propose a consistent classification of the above-mentioned phenomena. In this case, the main attention is paid to the consideration and analysis of their psychological aspects.

The broadest of the listed concepts, in our opinion, is “information-psychological confrontation”, reflecting different levels of opposition of the conflicting parties, carried out by information and psychological means to achieve political and military goals. Such a broad interpretation of the phenomenon under consideration allows us to cover information and psychological actions. In the system of information-psychological warfare carried out for military purposes, one can distinguish phenomena classified as “information warfare” and “psychological warfare.”

An information war can be understood as the struggle of the parties to achieve superiority over the enemy in timeliness, reliability, completeness of obtaining information, speed and quality of its processing and delivery to the performers. Such a war includes the following areas of activity: obtaining the necessary information; processing of received information; protection of information channels from enemy penetration; timely and high-quality delivery of information to consumers; enemy misinformation; disabling or disrupting the functioning of enemy information acquisition, processing and dissemination systems; destruction, distortion, theft of information from the enemy; development of more effective means of working with information than the enemy's.

Means of information warfare can be:

A) computer viruses, characterized by a high ability to penetrate programs through various channels, consolidate and reproduce in them, suppress and disable them;

b) “logical bombs”, “werewolf programs”, “information killer programs” introduced in advance into information and control centers of military and civilian infrastructure, and upon a signal or in set time distorting, destroying information or disrupting the operation of software and hardware;

c) programs for unauthorized access to enemy information resources for the purpose of stealing intelligence information;

d) means of suppression information systems the enemy, entering them for the purpose of substituting information or open propaganda interference;

e) biotechnological means created on the basis of cellular engineering that disable computer boards;

f) means of introducing viruses, logic bombs, werewolf programs, information killer programs, programs to influence personnel (“zombification”), etc. into information systems (virus guns, bookmarks in microprocessors, international computer networks and etc.).

Thus, information-psychological confrontation is a struggle between states and their armed forces to achieve superiority in the field of obtaining, processing, storing and bringing to users the necessary military, political, technical and other information, as well as in the field of moral and psychological capabilities of the nation, its army and navy in the interests of achieving political and military goals.

2. Basics of information warfare

The speed with which modern information and telecommunication technologies have burst into our lives has made it possible to talk about the “digital revolution”, which is already transforming social and economic life. The communications and information industry is undergoing fundamental changes. It took radio 38 years and television 13 years to reach 50 million people. In just 4 years, the same number of people began using the Internet.

In 1993, there were only 50 pages on the World Wide Web; today there are more than 1 billion. In 1998, only 143 million people were connected to the Internet; by 2001, the number of users reached 700 million, and currently there are about 2 billion. The Internet is already being used in a much wider area than any previously used means of communication.

Such impressive, and most importantly, lightning-fast changes have led to the fact that the desire to maintain global leadership is forcing the leadership of the world's leading countries to reconsider their approach to foreign and domestic policy.

2.1 Essence and features of information warfare

The term "information warfare" came into focus in connection with the Gulf War in 1991. This then meant disinformation and physical actions aimed at destroying Iraqi information systems - both military (radio and computer communications) and civilian (propaganda media). To this we can add Western television companies broadcasting from Iraq. Moreover, these broadcasts were not directed at the enemy, but, on the contrary, at citizens of Western countries.

After the Gulf War, theorists of “information warfare” appeared.

In August 1995, the US National Defense Institute published a classic work in the field by Martin Libicki. In it, the author identified 7 forms of information warfare:

1. Command and control in the modern sense is aimed at communication channels between command and performers and aims to deprive control.

2. Intelligence warfare - collecting militarily important information (like an attack) and protecting one's own.

3. Electronic warfare - directed against means of electronic communications - radio communications, radar stations, computer networks.

4. Psychological warfare - propaganda, brainwashing, information processing of the population. Libicki divided it into 4 components - undermining the civic spirit, demoralization of the Armed Forces, disorientation of the command and a war of cultures.

5. Hacker warfare involves sabotage actions against enemy civilian targets and protection from them (actions against the military are regarded as electronic warfare). The actions of hackers can lead to total paralysis of networks, communication interruptions, the introduction of random errors in data transfer, storage of information and services (unauthorized connections to networks), secret monitoring of networks, unauthorized access to private data for the purpose of blackmail. Hackers' weapons, according to Libicki, are computer viruses. Libicki considers hackers a serious threat to the United States, since America is the most “networked” country.

6. Economic information war. Libicki sees two of its forms - information blockade (directed against the United States) and information imperialism (the method of the United States itself). The blockade means, first of all, the blocking of commerce channels (by analogy with the ban on “physical” trade). Hacking banking networks is not included in this category (this is a category of hacker warfare). Information imperialism is part of the general policy of economic imperialism.

7. Cyber ​​warfare is different from “regular” hacking. This is the capture of computer data that allows you to track down the target (or blackmail him).

Libicki singled out semantic attacks as a special area. He sees the difference between a semantic attack and hacking in the fact that a hacker, roughly speaking, makes the system work incorrectly. In a semantic attack, the computer system works absolutely correctly, but the solutions it produces are incorrect. Semantic attack is aimed at the “sense organs” computer system that controls any process using sensors. To deceive these sensors or other means of input means to disable the system without breaking anything in it.

Based on the theater of operations, information warfare can be waged in various areas.

The electronic battlefield is represented by an ever-growing arsenal of electronic weapons, mostly classified. They are designed for combat operations in the field of command and control of troops, or "staff warfare."

Infrastructure attacks target vital elements such as telecommunications or transport systems. Similar actions may be taken by geopolitical or economic adversaries or terrorist groups.

Industrial espionage and other types of intelligence are carried out by corporations or states in relation to other corporations or states; for example, the collection of intelligence information about competitors, theft of proprietary information, and even acts of sabotage in the form of distortion or destruction of data or services.

Confidentiality is becoming increasingly vulnerable as ever-increasing amounts of information become available at an increasing number of locations. Important people can thus be subject to blackmail or malicious slander, and no one is guaranteed against fraudulent use of personal identification numbers.

2.2 Methods and techniques of information warfare

Information-psychological warfare has significant differences from conventional warfare aimed at physically suppressing the enemy. Its essence is influencing public consciousness in such a way as to control people and force them to act against their interests. This can be considered as a certain analogue viral disease. Thus, a virus that has entered a cell is integrated into the control processes of the DNA molecule. The cell externally remains the same as it was, and even the processes in it are of the same type, but the virus controls it. The disease goes through three phases: invasion, release of toxins and cell death. In psychological warfare, without introducing an analogue of a virus into the enemy’s system, no significant results can be expected. In such conditions, propaganda, espionage, and sabotage can only have an auxiliary value.

The role of the virus is played by an externally controlled “fifth column” within the country. It must penetrate into the management of public consciousness, into the ideological sphere and, like a virus in DNA, be indistinguishable from the environment.

A viral disease has a latent period, but after its end an acute stage begins - the body enters an excited, unstable state. In the same way, when organizing changes to the existing system, it is necessary to bring society to instability.

The traditional direct method of influencing consciousness is based on convincing people, appealing to their minds using rational arguments and logic. A necessary component of carrying out such an explanatory policy, addressed to the minds of people, is taking into account the real situation. At the same time, it is important to understand the balance of power, people’s interests, and conduct scientific analysis. In 1945, the great German philosopher Ernst Cassirer wrote: “To defeat the enemy, we must know him. This is one of the principles of correct strategy.” At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the state of public consciousness, i.e. give clear, catchy, understandable slogans; fight for people, for their consciousness every day.

Along with rational methods of influencing consciousness, there are methods that can be called irrational. They can be destructive, suppress rationality, and force people to serve their own ends. Here, at one time, Goebbels’ department made great achievements.

One of the effective methods - the big lie method - was successfully applied and justified by Hitler. The essence of this method is that people are more willing to believe a big lie than a small one, since it does not occur to them that they are being deceived so shamelessly. In case of failure, you should immediately look for enemies. The understanding of the masses is insignificant, but forgetfulness is excessively great. A big lie gives you time, and then no one will remember about it.

Another method used by Hitler's propaganda is based on the limited perception of people. A person does not have time to process data; he perceives excess information as noise. Therefore, they play a really important role simple wording, repetition, consolidation of a certain set of positions. Only the one who repeats ordinary concepts a thousand times will society want to remember.

Periodic, successive (even empty) campaigns that occupy people’s attention are quite effective. The ineffectiveness of the old ones was forgotten, and everything started all over again. The sequence of campaigns left no time for reflection and evaluation.

The third method used by Hitler is based on the fact that in the human subconscious there is a certain “herd” feeling of belonging to a certain social group that regulates the actions of individuals, which stimulates fashion, synchronization of actions, and submission to leaders. On its basis, one can successfully promote racial and religious exclusivity, the advantages of a “way of life,” and the selection of “intellectuals” over the “gray masses.”

The actions of Hitler's propaganda related to non-stationary conditions, rapidly changing events. This is when lies and rapidly changing campaigns are effective.

In all cases of influence on people's consciousness, the factor of repetition is invisibly present. The system of big (and little) lies has an effect only for a certain limited time. There is doubt in the human subconscious, the need to verify and reinforce information. Therefore, with information influence in static conditions, sending deliberately false information is unprofitable.

The method is effective when the inevitable negative aspects of a phenomenon are identified. For example, with a good professional composition of TV report frames, you can create for an audience of millions the impression of an event that is essentially the opposite of reality, focusing attention on the corresponding negative and even very rare frames.

For any information impact, the presence of truth and its certain dosage are necessary. Against this background, the necessary portions of false data may also arrive. But most effective method consists in dismembering the phenomenon, isolating true but isolated facts and identifying them with the phenomenon itself, i.e. creation of a false one based on true facts information structure. Complex formations of this kind are called political myths.

The introduction of political myths into consciousness makes it possible to replace a holistic worldview with a fragmented one that distorts the real picture.

Effective management of people and manipulation of them with the help of information influence becomes possible only in the presence of feedback. The entire system of information influence can work in vain if we do not take into account the dynamics of shifts in the consciousness of the population, as well as the possibilities of surprise and unpredictability.

In developed countries, there is a continuous sounding of public opinion. There is a whole system of surveys, there is great activity in communication between deputies at various levels and voters, and much attention is paid to finding out the mindset of specific groups of the population. This makes it possible to make adjustments to propaganda and eliminate emerging discrepancies between official ideology and public consciousness.

It is noted that in parallel with the media channels acting on the “leader’s opinions”, interpersonal informal channels of information function.

In addition to the direct (or informational) methods of influencing consciousness described above, there are also indirect ones associated with influences on the functioning conditions of the brain. This is how chemical regulation in the brain can be disrupted by drugs and alcohol. Human consciousness can also be significantly influenced by electromagnetic and acoustic fields, especially in the infrared frequency range. By directing them to people concentrated in a relatively small space, their behavior can be significantly changed. The action of such fields can also be global in nature due to solar activity initiating them. Taking this into account, it is possible to program the concentration of information-psychological warfare actions.

Today, the information-cultural and information-ideological expansion of the most developed states is taking place, which leads to the transformation of culture, traditions and spiritual values ​​in the rest of the world. The issue of protecting national information resources and maintaining the confidentiality of information exchange via open global information networks has become acute. Many control systems in various areas of human activity have already become information-dependent. Violations normal functioning computers and telecommunications can cause significant damage in the energy, financial and military sectors. Experts believe that the real national problem is not random failures, but the danger of targeted influence on information resources from the outside. Therefore, information security, information warfare and information weapons should be the focus of attention

3. Information warfare in the modern era

Currently, according to American experts, information warfare (IC) is not just a type of supporting the operations of the armed forces by disrupting the processes of control and command and control of troops, electronic suppression, moral and psychological impact, etc., but goes far beyond those listed problems. This is evidenced by the main results of research conducted by specialists from the American Rand Corporation in the late 90s.

In January 1995, this influential company was commissioned, as part of activities carried out by the US Department of Defense, to carry out a number of research projects in this area. Their goal was to determine the key characteristics and features of the use of information weapons; understanding its possible impact on national security; identifying the main areas of activity in the field of IP; strengthening national security and enhancing technological superiority in the field of creating information weapons; coordination of the activities of scientific and industrial organizations in determining the main directions for improving the strategy for ensuring the security of national information systems. The results of this work were to serve as the basis for identifying the role and place of information warfare in the US national military strategy, and a year later they were presented in the report MR-661-OSD (Strategic Information Warfare. A new face of War).

In this document, for the first time, due to the awareness of the capabilities of information weapons, the term Strategic Information Warfare - “strategic information warfare” - appeared. Such a confrontation, according to the statements of the report’s authors, represents “the use by states of the global information space and infrastructure to conduct strategic military operations and reduce the impact on their own information resource.” The emergence of such terminology differs significantly from the official interpretation of information warfare enshrined in the US Department of Defense directive DOD S 3600.1 (December 1992), which considered IP in a rather narrow sense, in the form of a semblance of electronic warfare.

The report states that changes in the socio-political life of a number of states, caused by the rapid pace of informatization and computerization of society, lead to a revision of the geopolitical views of the leadership, to the emergence of new strategic interests (including in the information sphere), which results in a change policies pursued by these countries. The authors emphasize that, taking into account the definition of war given by Clausewitz (“war is the continuation of politics by other means”), global contradictions require new means and methods for resolving them - strategic information warfare.

The conducted research made it possible to identify the following key features of this type of confrontation: comparatively low cost creation of individual entrepreneur funds; the collapse of the status of traditional state borders during the preparation and conduct of information operations; strengthening the role of managing the perception of a situation by manipulating information according to its description; changing priorities in strategic intelligence activities, which are shifting to the area of ​​gaining and maintaining information superiority; complication of problems of detecting the beginning of an information operation; the difficulty of creating a coalition against an aggressor who has unleashed an information war (IW); presence of a potential threat to US territory.

The authors especially noted the fact that the main provisions of the US national military strategy are not adequate to the threats that arise during strategic IP. In this regard, they expressed the need to implement the following recommendations: to locate a coordination center for countering threats in the information sphere in close proximity to the president, since only in this case can the required level of coordination of the activities of all ministries and departments be ensured; assess the vulnerability of key elements of the national information infrastructure; ensure the leading role of the state in coordinating efforts to counter threats in the information sphere; make adjustments to the national security strategy and national military strategy in accordance with the specifics of conducting strategic IP. The final part of the report MR-661-OSD analyzes the expected course of the information confrontation using the example of a possible conflict between the United States and Iran in the Persian Gulf using the methodology for forecasting the development of situations previously developed at the Rand Corporation and known as “The Day After... - The next day..."

A key concept introduced in Report MR-964-OSD is the classification of strategic warfare into first and second generation. At the same time, the first generation strategic IP is considered along with traditional means of warfare (nuclear, chemical, biological and others). It is emphasized that it is more focused on disorganizing the activities of management systems and is carried out rather as ensuring the actions of traditional forces and means. The authors note that such a perception of information warfare is characteristic of the initial stage of understanding the problem. The report defines first-generation strategic IP as "...one of several components of future strategic warfare, used in conjunction with other tools to achieve a goal." Thus, the concept of “strategic information warfare of the first generation” actually incorporates the main methods of information warfare that the United States is currently implementing at the state and military levels and which it does not intend to abandon in the foreseeable future.

Further study of the problem led to the introduction of the concept of “strategic information warfare of the second generation” (2nd Generation Strategic Information Warfare). The report defines this concept as “a fundamentally new type of strategic confrontation, brought to life by the information revolution, introducing the information space and a number of other areas (primarily the economy) into the circle of possible areas of confrontation and lasting for a long time: weeks, months and years.” It is noted that the development and improvement of approaches to the conduct of second-generation strategic IP in the future may lead to a complete abandonment of the use of military force, since coordinated information campaigns may make it possible to do without this extreme measure. The authors emphasize that if the consequences of the first generation of strategic IP can still be predicted using existing methods, then the second generation of confrontation is currently very difficult to formalize, and existing forecasting methods can be applied to the analysis of consequences very conditionally.

As an appendix to the report, two scenarios of possible events obtained using the same “The Day After...” methodology are given. The first is based on the results of an assessment of first-generation strategic IP in the conflict between China and Taiwan in the period up to 2010. The second examines the conduct of strategic IP between Russia and the United States in the period up to 2010. This scenario is based on the fact that Russia is launching a complex operation to manipulate the economic situation in the energy market (oil and gas), designed for several years and aimed at achieving superiority over the United States by imposing its economic policy on the energy market. The operation, in addition to means of special programmatic and mathematical influence on the information systems of the credit and financial sphere of the West, manipulation of information in the media, also involves diplomatic measures of influence on other energy suppliers, as well as manipulations with the currency systems of states (euro and dollar). It is quite obvious that, despite its novelty, the concept of “second-generation information warfare” formally outlined the goals of conducting IW at the state level, which the US intelligence agencies set for themselves back during the Cold War.

However, in the context of a certain transformation of views on the problem of running an individual entrepreneur, the tasks that need to be solved to achieve the goal also change. So, for the first generation information warfare it is:

fire suppression (in wartime) of elements of the infrastructure of state and military control;

conducting electronic warfare;

obtaining intelligence information by intercepting and decoding information flows transmitted via communication channels, as well as by side emissions;

unauthorized access to information resources with their subsequent distortion or theft;

formation and mass distribution across information channels enemy or global networks disinformation to influence the assessments and intentions of decision makers;

obtaining information of interest by intercepting open sources of information.

Second generation information warfare provides a slightly different approach:

creating an atmosphere of lack of spirituality and immorality, a negative attitude towards the cultural heritage of the enemy;

manipulation of public consciousness and political orientation of social groups of the country's population in order to create political tension and chaos;

destabilization of political relations between parties, associations and movements with the aim of provoking conflicts, inciting mistrust, suspicion, aggravating political struggle, provoking repression against the opposition and even civil war;

decrease in level information support authorities and management, inspiration of erroneous management decisions;

misinformation of the population about the work of government bodies, undermining their authority, discrediting government bodies;

provoking social, political, national and religious clashes;

initiating strikes, riots and other actions of economic protest;

difficulty in making important decisions by management bodies;

causing damage to the vital interests of the state in the political, economic, defense and other spheres.

In general, it should be noted that since the late 90s, the main trend in the development of understanding of the role and place of information warfare among Rand Corporation specialists has been the awareness of the fact that strategic IP is an independent, fundamentally new type of strategic confrontation, capable of resolving conflicts without the use of armed force .

Conclusion

The world is now turning to a highly charged battleground of ideas. This is no longer the world in which the material base was the subject of fierce rivalry. In this emerging world, the key to success will be the skillful management of information capabilities and resources, i.e. strategic planning and management.

Based on all of the above, I am inclined to believe that the concept of “war” is not entirely suitable at the present time, since war is a complex socio-political phenomenon. It represents a confrontation between social systems, classes, nations, and states using armed violence to achieve political goals. It seems that we should not yet expect a definition of a single and clear concept of “information war.” “Information warfare” or “information warfare” are completely legal and express the struggle of the parties for superiority in the quantity, quality and speed of obtaining, analyzing and using information.

Due to the fact that the movement towards wars of a new generation is now clearly indicated, the role of information warfare is sharply increasing in the following directions: in the fight against control systems; in imposing one’s own rules of conduct of military operations on the enemy; in a stake on military-technical superiority. The pinnacle of information warfare, apparently, will be the creation of a global combat information and strike system of the country and armed forces, capable of monitoring the state and functioning of the enemy’s armed forces and groups and reducing the effectiveness of their use. Now information warfare has already become the most important content of war, but due to the forces and means used in it, as well as specific goals and objectives, it acquires both significant independence and is an element of all other forms of struggle.

Thus, information warfare should be understood as a new form of struggle between the parties, in which special methods and means are used that influence the enemy’s information environment and protect their own in the interests of achieving strategic goals.

List of used literature

1. Cohen M. N. The Food Crisis in Prehistory: Overpopulation and the Origins of Agriculture. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1977. ISBN 0-300-02351-0,

2. Joint Pub 3-13 “Information Operations”, DOD US, December 1998.

3. Thomas P. Rona, “Weapon Systems and Information War”; Joint Pub 3-13.1 “Command and Control Warfare”, DOD US, February 1996;

4. Grinin L. E. Productive forces and historical process. 3rd ed. M.: KomKniga, 2006,

5. Ponomarev L. On the other side of the quantum - Moscow: Young Guard, 1971 - p. 304,

6. Petrov R.V. Conversations about new immunology - Moscow: Young Guard, 1978 - p.224,

7. Yarygin N., Biology, (in two volumes, M., 2006),

8. URL: www.Historic.Ru, World History section.

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The main means of waging “psychological warfare” is the activity of “electronic” media (radio, television), which is due to the possibility of using techniques of the effect of presence at the epicenter of the event and the reality of what is happening.

In the mid-1970s, when the confrontation between the socialist and capitalist camps was in full swing, a new term appeared - “information war”. It was invented by physicist Thomas Rohn, who was not only the first to understand, but also scientifically substantiated that information is the weakest link in any army.

The techniques and methods used to wage such a war are similar to atomic energy, which can serve people or can be used for their mass destruction. Information warfare technologies are another “double-edged sword,” since they can be used for both evil and good. It all depends on the purpose for which the information war is being waged: for self-defense or for preparing hostile actions against another state. In the first case, the mechanisms of information warfare help society and each individual to develop stably, becoming a reliable support in life, and in the second, they lead to complete social decline and destruction.

What is modern information warfare? Its main goal is to use special technologies to influence an ideological enemy and at the same time reliably protect its own information resources from any hostile influence. In other words, the meaning of the information war is to inflict severe cultural trauma on the population of a certain country. This is a “violent, unexpected, repressive introduction of values ​​that are sharply contrary to traditional customs and value scales,” which leads to the destruction of cultural time-space, and therefore the spiritual foundations on which any society rests.

An information war is, first of all, an invasion of certain ideas that destroy the national identity of an entire people. This is precisely her strategy. There are even more tactical techniques, tricks, methods, tricks in an information war than in a conventional war, where they only shoot and explode. Indeed, “an information bomb explodes in the very midst of people, showering us with shrapnel of images, radically changing both the perception of our inner world and our behavior.”

One should not think that information wars appeared only in the 20th century. In fact, they have been going on since the beginning of humanity. From ancient times we have received information about attempts to misinform the enemy, intimidate him and thereby undermine morale. The art of controlling people's thoughts and actions was developed and used as a secret weapon by the rulers of Sumer, Babylon, Ancient Egypt, China, Ancient Greece and Rome. In the works of Herodotus, Plutarch, Julius Caesar one can find a description of some techniques that can undermine the will to resist, cause betrayal or provoke panic. To achieve this, rumors were spread about the predominant number of their troops and their invincibility; about the presence of new powerful weapons; about treason, capture or flight of command; about good treatment of prisoners, etc.

Thanks to new technical means Today it is possible to reach millions of people simultaneously with propaganda. Organizations have also emerged that are capable of staging previously unimaginable political performances in the form of mass spectacles or bloody provocations. Strange forms of art have emerged that have a strong impact on the psyche (for example, performance art that turns everyday reality into a mesmerizing performance). Today Hollywood, CNN and similar “media monsters” are actively involved in waging information wars.

Information warfare has advantageous differences compared to other wars:

• 1. Such wars, as a rule, are fought on foreign territory. For them there are no boundaries or moral restrictions. Because of this, information attacks can penetrate even the most forbidden recesses of the psyche, striking the enemy’s mind.
• 2. Information war leaves no traces behind. It seems to a person (or even an entire society) that he accepts independent decisions, although in fact there is a hidden effect on him. For this reason, an information attack becomes especially dangerous: it is very difficult to repel it, not to mention preparing for it in advance.
• 3. Information warfare is very beneficial from an economic point of view. Its implementation does not require large material and human resources. To influence public opinion, a minimum amount of information is sufficient. If it is presented correctly, it will give excellent results.
• 4. The features of information warfare are determined by the object at which it is directed. In this case we are talking about human thinking. If the destruction of a bridge requires “hard” methods, then in the case of information it is quite possible to get by with “soft” approaches.
• 5. Information warfare is characterized by a certain “mimicry”, imitation of the object on which its main impact is directed. This means that the same information can be presented differently for specialized institutions and for a specific person. Thanks to this, the “invisibility” of targeted information influence is achieved, which is successfully “masked” as the truth, and therefore is difficult to detect.
• 6. The same facts and social phenomena are perceived differently in different situations. For example, mass desertion of soldiers will be considered a good thing from the enemy’s point of view, but from the point of view of one’s own command, it will be considered a crime.
• 7. Information warfare aims to change the worldview of a large social group or an entire society. For this to happen, the “attacking side” must delve into the ideas about the world of its opponent and become at his level of thinking.

Today, developed countries are increasingly mastering information warfare technologies, which have received another name - “network”. Its main goal is to establish control over important processes (political, economic, social, spiritual) taking place in another country and maintain it for as long as possible. Thoughtful, well-organized propaganda and coordination work deployed in society help, if necessary, quickly mobilize the masses and start a revolution.

The strategy of network warfare, also called “sixth generation warfare,” has been officially adopted by the Pentagon. It allows you to seize foreign territories and establish American control over them without the use of conventional weapons. Therefore, a network war is just that: a war, therefore, it must be taken with all seriousness. One of the methods of information warfare is the creation of public organizations that promote the values ​​of Western culture in society. This is precisely the process that is actively taking place in the post-Soviet space today. Thus, foreign intelligence services undermine national spiritual values. At a certain stage, it is the network of such organizations that turns into the engine of “color” revolutions. As a result, the US administration gets the opportunity to manipulate entire countries in its own interests. The continuous and never-ending nature of network warfare is embedded in American military doctrine. This means that over time this state will be able to establish total control over all the forces of humanity. To achieve this goal, a variety of tools are used: non-governmental organizations, charitable foundations (for example, the Soros Foundation), nationalist, religious and other radical movements, criminal groups, the media, and Internet sites. Individual elements One system is not always aware that they are participating as a united front in the information war against Russia.

UDK 07 BBK 76.0

S. A. Ivanov

Information war: essence and main forms of manifestation*

Information Warfare: Its Contents and Forms

The concept of information warfare, its essence, spheres and methods of warfare are revealed, and the approaches of various authors to its understanding are analyzed. The main directions of information wars are shown. Examining the existing points of view on the issue of the essence of information warfare, the author groups them into two approaches - the inclusion of information wars in the sphere of military clashes, on the one hand, and their assessment as a form of geopolitical confrontation, on the other. It is especially noted that the development of the Internet led to the emergence of information wars in cyberspace and made significant adjustments to the conduct of geopolitical struggle. When comparing the concepts of “information war” and “information warfare”, it is shown that some researchers equate them, while others believe that information warfare is waged more actively and using sabotage and terrorist methods. According to the author's position, information warfare is a complex of information and psychological influences, the main goal of which is to form the necessary public opinion and behavioral attitudes of the population as a whole and its individual representatives.

Keywords: information, information wars,

information warfare, geopolitics, media.

DOI 10.14258/izvasu(2013)4.2-54

The concept of information warfare, its contents, spheres and ways it is conducted and the approaches of various authors to its analysis are shown in this article. Having analyzed the trends in the study of information warfare, the author divides them into two groups: information wars considered as an essential element of military collisions, on the one hand, and information wars considered as forms of geopolitical confrontation, on the other hand. Moreover, it is especially noted that the development of the Internet led to the emergence of information wars in cyberspace and changed the methods of geopolitical struggle. When comparing the concepts of “information war” and “information antagonism”, the author shows that some researchers have considered them interchangeable, while others have disagreed to that saying information war is waged more actively using the subversive operations and terrorist methods. According to the author's opinion, information warfare is a complex of information and psychological techniques primarily aimed at creating the desired public opinion as well as individual and group behavioral patterns.

Key words: information, information warfare, geopolitical struggle, mass media.

In the first half of the twentieth century. Even science fiction writers could not imagine that after a few decades, scientific and technological progress would give humanity new means of communication that would gradually connect almost the entire world with their invisible threads. Unfortunately, this world cannot do without information wars.

“Information war” is a term that is undoubtedly important and relevant at the present stage of development of society, without a clear understanding of which it is impossible to understand the processes occurring in modern political life and geopolitics.

In the report of the UN Secretary-General (A/56/164MS.1 dated October 3, 2001), information wars were classified as the main threats to individuals, society and the state in the information space, along with such threats as the development and use of means of unauthorized interference in the information sphere another state; unlawful use of other people's information resources and causing damage to them; targeted information impact on the population of a foreign state; attempts to dominate the information space; encouragement of terrorism.

* The article was prepared with the financial support of the Ministry of Education and Science within the framework of the federal state assignment (project No. 6.3042.2011 “Comprehensive study of the development of the political and religious landscape in Southern Siberia in the context of Russian state policy”).

Researchers note that the information impact on the enemy began a long time ago. Y. S. Shatilo and V. N. Cherkasov consider myths to be the first “information attacks”. In their opinion, the troops of the next conqueror of the whole world followed the stories about their incredible cruelty, which quite seriously undermined the morale of the enemy.

The term “information warfare” was first used by T. Rona in the report “Weapons Systems and Information Warfare,” prepared by him in 1976. He emphasized that the information infrastructure is a key aspect of the American economy, but at the same time it becomes a vulnerable target in both war and peace.

According to I. N. Panarin, the starting point should be taken not in 1976, but in 1967, when A. Dulles (the main organizer of the information war against the Soviet Union) published a book called “Secret Surrender,” dedicated to secret separate negotiations between The USA and Great Britain, on the one hand, and the Reichsführer SS Himmler, on the other. It was the first to introduce the term “information warfare,” which represents personal, reconnaissance, and sabotage actions to undermine the enemy’s rear. Later, this term began to be actively mentioned in the press, especially after Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

Currently, the concept of “information warfare” is defined in different ways. This is due to the polysemy of the term “information warfare”, which has given rise to many discrepancies in its translations. It can be interpreted as “information war”, “information warfare”, “information-psychological warfare”. In particular, information warfare is characterized as information activities undertaken by a political entity (for example, a state) to weaken or destroy another political entity; as an information struggle between competing competitors; informational military conflict between two massive enemies, for example armies, etc.

When identifying the essence of information warfare, first of all, interpretations are distinguished in which this term refers to the sphere of military confrontation. In October 1998, the United States introduced the United Doctrine of Information Operations, in which information warfare is understood as a complex impact (a set of information operations) on the system of state and military control of the opposing side, its military-political leadership, which already in peacetime led would lead to the adoption of decisions favorable for the party initiating the information impact, but during the conflict it would completely paralyze

functioning of the enemy's control infrastructure. Simultaneously with the offensive impact, information warfare involves ensuring reliable protection of the US national information infrastructure.

As American military experts note, information warfare consists of actions taken to achieve information superiority in the interests of national strategy and carried out by influencing the enemy’s information and information systems while simultaneously protecting one’s own information and one’s information systems. Information superiority is defined as the ability to collect, process and distribute a continuous flow of information about the situation, preventing the enemy from doing the same.

A similar point of view is shared by S. A. Komov. In wartime, information warfare includes a “complex information support, information countermeasures, measures information security undertaken in accordance with a unified plan and aimed at achieving and maintaining information superiority over the enemy during combat operations.” In his opinion, for the armed forces the concept of information warfare has the following aspects: defining measures to obtain information about the enemy and battle conditions (for example, weather, engineering equipment etc.), to collect information about one’s own and interacting troops; determining measures to block the enemy’s process of collecting information about troops, planning measures for disinformation at all stages of combat operations; implementation of measures to organize interaction with other military contingents participating in the conflict, etc.

Within the framework of this approach, it is necessary to mention the point of view of S.P. Rastorguev, who focuses on the fact that information warfare is open and hidden targeted information impacts of information systems on each other in order to obtain a certain gain in the material sphere.

This aspect was also emphasized by specialists from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who noted that information warfare is “a confrontation between states in the information space with the aim of causing damage to information systems, processes and resources, critically important structures, undermining the political, economic and social systems, as well as massive psychological processing of the population with the aim of destabilizing society and the state.”

The second group of definitions interprets information warfare as a form of geopolitical counter-

struggle. Thus, L. G. Ivashov defines information confrontation as a set of relations of information protection and information rivalry between opposing geopolitical subjects.

Analyzing the current stage of development, authors, for example V. Dergachev, state that the global Internet system is turning into a factor of political and economic reality, into a means of geopolitical communication, where the mobility of information becomes a strategic resource that does not have a territorial state organization. The author notes the emergence of such a new “battlefield” of information wars as cyberspace. The information technology component, in his opinion, has made significant adjustments to geopolitics. In this regard, the modern geopolitical power of a state is determined not by material resources, but by strength of spirit. The newest geopolitics operates with “large” spaces of multidimensional connectivity, including virtual space World Wide Web(cyberspace) and is armed with information and communication technologies for manipulating consciousness, allowing them to effectively wage network wars.

In a broad sense, information warfare is considered by I. Vasilenko, who defines it “as a systematic information impact on the entire infocommunication system of the enemy and neutral states with the aim of creating a favorable global information environment for conducting any political and geopolitical operations that ensure maximum control over space.”

In addition, information warfare can be understood as new form struggle between two or more sides. According to V.S. Pirumov, it consists of the targeted use special means and methods of influencing the enemy’s information resources, as well as protecting one’s own information resource to achieve designated goals. The author notes that in peacetime, information warfare is predominantly covert in nature, and its main content is the conduct of reconnaissance and political-psychological actions against the enemy, and the implementation of measures for one’s own information security.

Analyzing the literature, in my opinion, it is necessary to focus on one important question: is it possible to equate information warfare with information warfare? Thus, it was noted above that an information war can be interpreted as a confrontation. However, not all authors agree with this. In particular, I. N. Panarin insists that “information warfare is a form of struggle between the parties,

which consists in influencing the information environment of the opposing party and protecting one’s own from negative information influences. The only difference between these two concepts is that information warfare is carried out more actively using sabotage and terrorist methods.”

A different point of view is held

A. V. Manoilo. In his opinion, “information war” and “information confrontation” are essentially the same thing. The term “information and psychological warfare” on Russian soil was transferred from the dictionary of US military circles and literally means “information and psychological warfare” and therefore can sound like “information warfare” or “information psychological warfare” depending on the context. At the same time, they are offered a definition of information warfare, which is consonant with the opinion of I. N. Panarin - this is the most socially dangerous form of information warfare, carried out by violent means and methods of influencing the information and psychological sphere of the enemy in order to solve strategic problems.

In this regard, there are a number of interpretations in which information warfare can be considered as information-psychological. In particular,

V. Lisichkin and L. Shelepin understand information-psychological warfare as a war of a new type, “which uses a channel of direct influence on public consciousness, on the souls of people. The task is to force the masses to act in the right direction, even against their own interests, and in the enemy’s camp to split people, to force them to stand against each other.”

S. A. Zelinsky also focuses on the fact that psychological warfare, unlike wars in which military equipment is involved, occurs in an informational way, which as a result turns out to be much more effective in reaching the audience and not causing destruction of material assets. Therefore, these concepts should not be separated, since information is the main driving mechanism for waging psychological warfare.

In this regard, the point of view of A.V. Manoilo deserves attention, defining information-psychological warfare as combat actions planned in accordance with a PR scenario, the goal of which is not the destruction of enemy manpower and equipment, but the achievement of a certain PR effect. The product of a modern information-psychological warfare operation is a summary of media news in the format of a journalistic report, due to which the necessary public opinion is formed. As a result, you can change a person’s life

ka, and if necessary, a way of existence, including the social structure of the population, the social system.

This is largely due to the fact that the decision-making processes of the mass consciousness are based on streams of entertainment information (from films to the humorous program “ProjectorParisHilton”). Therefore, information warfare is considered as a way of influencing the information space of the opposing side in order to achieve strategic goals, and it is based on propaganda.

In general, summarizing various points of view, we can formulate a definition of information warfare. Moreover, it is impossible to deduce any one de-

finition, which would fully reflect its specificity, since it is a multifaceted complex phenomenon. From my point of view, information warfare can be considered, firstly, as a military confrontation or actions taken to damage information systems, resources, and the like in order to gain information superiority. Secondly, as an information-psychological war, which involves influencing public consciousness in such a way as to force people to act against their interests. Although I believe that these two aspects are quite conditional for the reason that in both the first and second cases in the information war vital importance has an impact on people's consciousness.

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The relevance of this work lies in the fact that from the point of view of timeliness and social significance, the problem of waging information wars in the media and blogosphere is global in nature. Due to the fact that in the last 10 years the Internet has become widespread, the information war has intensified hundreds of times, this is evidenced by the development of a new generation of war, the so-called network war. Goals of information warfare There are three goals of information warfare: to control the information space so that we can use it to protect...

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INTRODUCTION

This work is devoted to the study of information warfare in the media and blogosphere.

Relevance of this work is thatfrom the point of view of timeliness and social significance, the problem of waging information wars in the media and blogosphere is global in nature. Due to the fact that the Internet has become widespread in the last 10 years, the information war has intensified hundreds of times, as evidenced by the development of a new generation of warfare, the so-called “network war.” An information war, compared to a conventional one, affects all aspects of society and concerns everyone; its consequences are unpredictable, which is why consideration of this topic has aroused interest.

Target works to study the essence and features of the “information war”, as well as to consider and analyze the “information wars” of our time.

To achieve this goal we need to solve the following tasks :

1. identify the essence and features of information warfare, methods of waging it;
2. collect contexts from online publications and blogs;
3. analyze the information wars of our time using the example of these contexts;
4. assess the danger of information wars.

Volume The studied material amounted to sixty contexts.

Sources materials: electronic resources, scientific literature; source of contexts publications of Russian and foreign online publications, site blog materials livejournal and twitter.

Research methods:

1. analysis;
2. induction;
3. deduction;
4. comparison;
5. observation;
6. analogy;
7. generalization

Work structure . This work consists of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion and a list of sources used.

CHAPTER 1. Information warfare: concept, types and goalsinformation warfare.

§1. Information war: concept, features and goals

1. Definition of the concept

There are many definitions of the concept “information warfare”. In this regard, it seems appropriate to consider the most popular of them and highlight the features inherent in all interpretations of this phenomenon.

Information war is:

1. influencing the civilian population and (or) military personnel of another state through the dissemination of certain information. The term “information-psychological warfare” was borrowed into the Russian language from the dictionary of US military circles. The translation of this term (“information and psychological warfare”) from English can sound like “information warfare” and “information, psychological warfare,” depending on the context of a specific official document or scientific publication [Manoilo 2005];
2. purposeful actions taken to achieve information superiority by causing damage to the enemy’s information, information processes and information systems while simultaneously protecting one’s own information, information processes and information systems [Manoilo 2005];
3. a comprehensive, holistic strategy, determined by the increasing importance and value of information in matters of command, management, politics, economics and public life [Pocheptsov 2000];
4. actions taken to achieve information superiority in supporting the national military strategy by influencing the enemy’s information and information systems while simultaneously strengthening and protecting our own information and information systems [Rastorguev 1999];
   1. Features of information wars

Analysis of definitions allows us to highlight those features that are always present when waging information warfare:

1. Impact on any audience (people, military personnel, workers, intelligentsia, etc.)
2. Information conveyed to this audience.
3. Application strategy information media is exclusively offensive in nature.
4. The purpose of information warfare is to change the thinking of the party on whom the influence is directed and to obtain a more advantageous position.
5. Protecting your own information space from attack.
   1. Goals of information warfare

There are three goals of information warfare:

1. control the information space so that we can exploit it while protecting our military information functions from enemy actions (counter-information);
2. use information control to conduct information attacks on the enemy;
3. improve the overall effectiveness of the armed forces through the widespread use of military information functions [translation by Vladimir Kazennov].

§2. Types and methods of conducting information attacks

1. Types of information attacks

There are two ways to influence the enemy's information functions— indirectly or directly. Let's illustrate the difference between them with an example.

Let our goal be to make the enemy think that the air regiment is located where it is not at all, and to act on the basis of this information in a way that is beneficial to us.

Indirect information attack: Using engineering tools, we can build mock-ups of aircraft and decoy airfield structures, and simulate activities to work with them. We rely on the enemy to observe the false airfield and believe it to be real. Only then will this information become what the enemy should have in our opinion.

Direct information attack: if we create information about a false air regiment in the enemy's information storage, the result will be exactly the same. But the means used to achieve this result will be very different.

Another example of a direct information attack could be changing information in the enemy database about existing communications during combat operations (introducing false information that bridges have been destroyed) to isolate individual enemy units. The same can be achieved by bombing bridges. In both cases, enemy analysts, making a decision based on the information they have, will make the same decision - to transfer troops through other communications [translation by Vladimir Kazennov].

1. Methods of conducting information attacks

"Direct rebuttal." The method consists of directly refuting all elements of the other side's propaganda.

"Ignoring" It consists of ignoring the elements and topics of the other side, based on the assumption that a negative topic that remains “in the public eye” does more damage than a topic that appears for a short period of time. It is most effective when the topic is insignificant, the other side has little resources to “promote” it, and also when the negative information is highly reliable.

"Distractive propaganda." The method consists of distraction and transfer of attention target audience with the propaganda of the other side on other topics. Quite often used by government authorities. For example, it is becoming well known that after moments of intensified criticism of the US President along the “sexual line,” the topics of Iraq, bombing and missile strikes, terrorists, etc. almost immediately intensified. In Russia, at times of various crises, the topic of the burial of V.I. Lenin and others arose.

"Preventive propaganda and anticipation." The method consists of preemptively using a propaganda theme that can be used by the other party, with components or elements modified and toned down to reduce the credibility of the theme. Moreover, counter-propaganda in general is characterized by a proactive character. In the practice of psychological operations, it is often used in the form of proactively making accusations against the other side. In election campaigns it is often used by making obviously false accusations against a candidate, followed by a broad refutation of these accusations.

For example, during the election campaign in one of the regions of the Russian Federation, the “election team” of one of the candidates used this method as follows: a deliberately false accusation was made that the candidate had taken a commercial loan, and then a broad refutation was provided, based on the absence of this form of loan in banking practice . Since the initial accusation was allegedly made by a competitor of the candidate, his further attempts to use information about a similar fact, which was much more reliable, were neutralized.

"Pseudological conclusions". The method is to use incorrect logical conclusions. For example, based on the fact that the candidate supports the idea of ​​​​increasing government intervention in the economy and the fact that communists also advocate intervention in the economy, it is concluded that the candidate is a communist. A variation of the method is its joint use with the “selective selection of information” method, when logical conclusions are drawn on the basis of a specially limited array of information. In election campaigns, it is especially often used when conducting various sociological surveys, developing and supporting propaganda topics, etc.

1. From the history of information wars

The Cold War, in its ideological aspect, can be considered an information war. It was a war of civilizations, worldviews, basic goals, knowledge. The war ended with the defeat of the communist model of the world, but today many people in Russia continue to dream of an ideal socialist future and blame the United States for all their failures

conclusions

Information warfare as a method of influencing the population of one’s own state or an enemy state originated a long time ago. With the help of information, not only the media and the Government, but also individual Internet bloggers can influence people. Therefore, you need to be picky about information, not trust one source and double-check any data, as well as distinguish emotions from facts.

CHAPTER 2. Information attacks of our time

§1. International information attacks

1. Threat of nuclear war

At a meeting with the heads of foreign news agencies in St. Petersburg, the Russian President said that “the growth of hostile rhetoric between the Russian Federation and the United States does not mean that the world faces a growing threat of confrontation with the use of nuclear weapons,” reports RIA Novosti [Vzglyad Russia 2015 ].

Western officials have expressed concern over Russian rhetoric regarding nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Rapidly deteriorating relations between NATO and Russia, exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine, have once again brought the strength and effectiveness of missile defense to the forefront of discussions. In a recent statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his country would field 40 new ICBMs. He attributed the move to concerns about transatlantic missile defense systems near Russian borders. Russian missiles, according to Putin, will be able to “surpass even the most technically advanced missile defense systems.”["Newseek" USA 2015].

The Obama administration is considering a range of aggressive responses to Russia's accusations of violating a Cold War agreement, including stationing ground-launched missiles in Europe that could launch a preemptive strike against Russian weapons. ", noted in the material.

The White House is considering three options for a military response in connection with the alleged violation of the INF Treaty. The Dempsey report mentions: the development of defensive capabilities, a pre-emptive “counterforce strike” against treaty-violating weapons, and the “possibility of a nuclear strike on enemy industrial centers”["Vzglyad" Russia 2015].

Nuclear war is part of the Pentagon's strategy. One of the passages of the declaration reads: “In the event of an enemy attack, American military forces will take retaliatory actions of such a scale as can force the enemy to cease hostilities or render him incapable of further aggression. War with a serious adversary will require the full use of all instruments of national power.”

The last phrase implies the forced mobilization of all personnel necessary for a war with Russia or China.

The report begins by dividing the world into two categories of countries: “Today, most states, led by the United States and its allies and partners, support the creation of institutions and processes that prevent conflict, respect sovereignty, and strengthen human rights. But some countries are trying to redefine key aspects of the international order. Their actions threaten our national security interests.”

This classification of countries is ridiculous. In pursuit of its interests, Washington regularly violates the authority of international institutions and contradicts international law, including the Geneva Convention. Regarding “preventing conflict, respecting sovereignty, and promoting human rights,” ask the martyred peoples of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Eastern Ukraine about the consequences of American invasions, bombings and CIA drone strikes, subversion, and civil wars instigated and supported by Washington.

The Pentagon divides the world into two camps: those who grovel before America, the dominant world power, and those who, in one sense or another, dare to speak out against the United States.

Russia “does not respect the sovereignty of its neighbors and is prepared to use force to achieve its goals,” the strategy says. Iran "continues to develop nuclear missile technology" and is a "state sponsor of terrorism." North Korea threatens its neighbors with "nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development." China's actions "add to tensions in the Asia-Pacific region."

The hypocrisy is almost incomprehensible! None of the four defendants in the country are actually involved in armed conflicts with anyone today. The United States itself is currently waging war in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. They launch missile attacks on the territory of six other states, and deploy their military forces in more than 100 countries around the world.

The Pentagon document acknowledges that “neither of these countries seeks direct military conflict with the United States or its allies, yet each poses a serious security threat.”

The strategy indirectly refers to these “threats”. “The United States is the most powerful nation in the world, with unique advantages in technology, energy, alliances and partnerships, and demographics. However, these benefits are disputed."[ Fedor Ivanovich Sukhov 2015] .

When talking about the topic of nuclear war, the media uses the semantics of admissibility; in blogs, statements look more confident. This is due to the fact that the media can only present the facts, when as an individual blogger has more freedom of action. He can make guesses, give his assessment of words and events. Some posts on this topic are blocked by Roskomnadzor due to extremism.

1. Cooperation between Russia and China

Russia and China are hard at work building a new world order in which America and Europe will no longer play a leading role. In any case, this is precisely the main message that came out of the Russian southern Ural city of Ufa last week. It became the meeting place for the heads of state and government of the BRICS member countries and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization - two associations of states determined to get rid of the influence of the West, which they perceive as intolerable tutelage[“Die Zeit” Germany 2015].

Russian and Chinese companies began to abandon the dollar en masse in favor of the yuan and ruble. This is not only salvation from exchange rate fluctuations. It is not profitable for Russia to carry out payments “through America”, given the current geopolitical realities["Vzglyad" Russia 2015].

Most analyzes about the relationship between Russia and China are full of rumors, speculation and superficiality. Depending on what basic point of view this or that expert adheres to, China appears in the materials as either the most dangerous potential enemy of Russia, or almost the most faithful and reliable friend who is able to protect us with his broad chest from any Western misfortune.

In reality, as always, everything is somewhat different. Each of our countries has its own set of interests and priorities. On many issues our positions are the same or close, on others there are unprincipled disagreements, and on others we are, if not opponents, then competitors. But in general, today there are no major differences on strategic issues, which allows our states to cooperate quite closely and effectively develop interaction[chipstone 2015].

The Western media exaggerates the images of Russia and China in order to show the threat they pose to the world community. The Russian media proves the benefits of such cooperation by demonstrating the negative side of opposing actions. Blogs on this topic are blocked with the same frequency as the previous one. The blog shows the related position of Russia and China through comparison. The difference between a blogger and the media is that he does not aim to impose his point of view, but only represents existing ones.

1. Sanctions against Russia

As a citizen and patriot, I cannot support actions against Russia that would worsen the living conditions of ordinary people. However, I recommend two options that I think will be received positively by the majority of Russians.

First, although Putin's incursion has already prompted the European Union to impose sanctions on 21 officials and the United States on seven, most of these government officials are not considered influential. They do not have large assets outside of Russia and are not related to Mr. Putin; sanctions against them will not change Russian policy.

Instead, Western countries could deal a serious blow to the luxurious lifestyle of Kremlin cronies, whose assets should be frozen. Such sanctions should primarily be aimed at Putin’s inner circle, the “Kremlin mafia,” which is plundering the country’s national wealth. Among them are Gennady Timchenko, head of the Volga group; Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, influential businessmen and former sparring partners of Putin in judo; Yuri Kovalchuk, a financier considered Putin's personal banker; Vladimir Yakunin, head of Russian Railways; oligarchs Roman Abramovich, Alisher Usmanov; Igor Sechin and Alexey Miller, heads of Rosneft and Gazprom, respectively.

Sanctions should also hit the oligarchs, whose media parrot the words of the regime, as well as Putin’s entire “war cabinet”: television political strategists, Duma members and apparatchiks from the United Russia party.

Real sanctions, such as blocking access to their assets in London, will show that Putin's stupidity can lead to serious costs.

Secondly, Western authorities, within their jurisdiction, should investigate the facts of money laundering in their countries, acquired in Russia by ill-gotten means. The Anti-Corruption Foundation, which I set up in 2011, has uncovered dozens of major cases of bribery. In 90% of cases, funds were laundered in the West. Unfortunately, US, UK and EU law enforcement agencies have reached a dead end in their investigation of these cases.["The New York Times" USA 2014].

“Sanctions are being applied against Russia aimed at reducing our economic potential,” said Patrushev, “in order to influence the policy that we are pursuing. Well, in principle, to change the leadership that we currently have us in the country"["Rossiyskaya Gazeta" Russia 2015].

Residents of Russia are outraged by the cannibalistic sanctions imposed on them by Western countries. By direct order of the Kremlin, retaliatory measures have been introduced throughout the country, designed to show the seriousness of the current situation. America, come to your senses before it's too late[vvv-ig 2014] !

Alexey Navalny, in his article for an American publication, uses caustic metaphors (“bosom friends of the Kremlin,” “Putin’s circle”) to describe the country’s political elite and the need to replace it. In the second context, the same idea is expressed, but without emotional overtones. The blog ridicules the very idea of ​​Russian anti-sanctions and how Russian people perceive this idea.

conclusions

From the contexts examined, it becomes clear that other countries see Russia as a threat, but Russia itself does not think about what the policy of militarism leads to. Because of this, Western politicians see danger in any Russian actions that benefit the development of the state.

The West imposed sanctions to influence Russian foreign policy. The measures taken were supposed to hit the country's elite. But due to anti-sanctions, which were supposed to weaken the economies of Western countries, the middle class is suffering.But the federal media presented information in such a way that Russians think that economic problems in the country arose due to sanctions.

In blogs, the topic of international confrontation is often blocked by Roskomnadzor due to extremism. Bloggers boldly express their point of view, because of this, disputes arise on many forums and become personal.

§2. Information attacks within the country

2.1 The Tannhäuser scandal

The head of the United Russia party faction in the Novosibirsk Legislative Assembly, Andrei Panferov, continued to denounce the directors of Tannhäuser. “The names of these people are scoundrels and scoundrels, there’s no other way to say it!” the audience clapped at these words of his. “They think that what is happening in Ukraine, where our compatriots are also dying, that this punishment will bypass them. And the first ones who will hang out on the street lamps when the fascist rubbish comes here will be them"["BBC Russian Service" 2015].

Director and creator of the film “Leviathan” Andrei Zvyagintsev told in a blog how a meeting was held at the Ministry of Culture at which directors, writers, public figures and clergy tried to understand the conflict around “Tannhäuser”. Zvyagintsev provided a transcript of the meeting with his own comments. “We talked about Article 44 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation: about freedom of literary and artistic creativity. So what? Is there creative freedom or not? Freedom, it’s like Bulgakov’s fish, there is no such thing as freshness. Its second freshness is already censorship,” Zvyagintsev said. “Educate people, and God will judge them,” the director concluded["Snob" 2015].

The theme of “Tannhäuser” is accompanied by constant invective language, both from the supporting Russian Orthodox Church and from the side of creative freedom.

2.2 Promotion on Russia Day

One of the members of the scandalous group Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, along with activist Ekaterina Nenasheva, was detained by the capital police for an unauthorized rally in the center of Moscow. The girls came to Bolotnaya Square dressed as prisoners.According to law enforcement agencies, Tolokonnikova and Nenasheva were taken to the Yakimanka police station until the circumstances were clarified.Nadezhda Tolokonnikova was sentenced to 2 years for an action in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior as part of a punk group, and after her release under an amnesty for the 20th anniversary of the Constitution, she founded the “Zone of Law” movement to protect the rights of prisoners. Since then, the ex-Pussy Riot soloist has been traveling around the world, meeting with Western human rights activists and spending time with celebrities.A few months ago, LifeNews published an audio recording of a telephone conversation with Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, in which she discusses the idea of ​​a new PR campaign. Talking to another activist, Tolokonnikova admits that she doesn’t care about prisoners["LifeNews" 2015].

A member of the punk band Pussy Riot was detained by police.As Tolokonnikova told the radio station “Moscow Speaks”, she and her friend staged a performance on Russia Day. “We are at the Yakimanka police station. We came to Bolotnaya Square dressed as prisoners in order to sew a Russian flag. The girl who was with me, her name is Katerina Nenasheva, she has been wearing uniform for the 18th day. This is a project in support of women prisoners,” Tolokonnikova said.Tolokonnikova believes that there were no grounds for her detention. “To be honest, I didn’t understand, because it seems to me that sewing is possible. Even if you sew on Bolotnaya Square. We were told we needed to go to the paddy wagon. I insisted that we need to sew a Russian flag, because today is Russia Day. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to sew a Russian flag. They picked me up and carried me into the paddy wagon,” said the Pussy Riot member.It has not yet been possible to obtain an official comment from the Moscow Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the radio station "Moscow Speaks"[“Moscow Speaks” 2015].

“I have the right to sew in my country,” my uniformed partner tells the cop.

but not in public places! At home sew for yourself[tolokno 2015].

In the media, the heroine of the action on Bolotnaya Square is described as nothing less than a member of a scandalous group Pussy Riot . Accordingly, the attitude towards her is built on the basis of her previous actions (actions in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior). Nadezhda Tolokonnikova herself uses invective towards Russian Law Enforcement Agencies and the authorities in general in her Twitter.

conclusions

In these texts it is clear that there is an information war between the opposition (which advocates or pretends to advocate for freedom of speech) and the authorities (which wants to show only the advantages and exclude all the disadvantages of their work and social phenomena in society).

It's interesting that audiences react differently. Many people who try to exercise the personal right of free speech are faced with rejection of this freedom. In discussions of articles on sensitive political topics, discussions always arise: some opponents praise the government, while the other part criticizes. Since the parties cannot find a compromise, a transition to personalities occurs, accompanied by invective language and absurd argumentation.

CONCLUSION

In this study we foundthe essence and features of information warfare, methods and goals of its conduct. We analyzed the information attacks of our time and concluded that the information war is going on both between Russia and the West, and within the country.

Information war– This is no longer some kind of fairy tale about manipulating people, this is reality modern life. Mass media is a tool for shaping society’s picture of the world, so it can be used to control mass consciousness. The latest achievements in the field of information technology and globalization are giving rise to new weapons of information warfare. Based on its main task, the media should objectively inform people, but this does not happen. One of the reasons for media bias is that modern media developed on the basis of Soviet journalism, with its special traditions. Another reason is writing articles ordered from above. In conditions of media bias, people themselves must carefully check the information and in no case give in to emotions.

In the blogosphere, information attacks target fewer people than those in the media. But blog authors have their advantages over the media: the absence of orders from above, freedom of speech, the ability to use different functional speech styles and the absence of censorship. The only limitation on information attacks on blogs is the bans of Roskomnadzor in connection with the dissemination of information prohibited in the Russian Federation.

LIST OF SOURCES USED

1. Manoilo A.V. Information and psychological warfare: factors that determine the format of modern armed forces // Kyiv, 2005.
2. Pocheptsov G.G. Information and psychological warfare // SINTEG M, 2000.
3. Rastorguev S.P. Information war // Radio and communications M, 1999.
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In our time of free access to a huge amount of information, the struggle for human minds has begun to be waged in this area. Giving to society necessary materials and news, the social sentiments and aspirations of the prevailing population can be controlled.

What is information warfare?

The term "information warfare" was originally used in American military circles. Information warfare is psychological pressure on all or part of society. Skillful presentation of the necessary information helps create certain moods and provoke a reaction. The first information about this type of war dates back to the 50s of the 19th century and concerns the Crimean War.

Information warfare can be waged both within a state and between different countries and is part of a complex process of confrontation. The presence of information pressure on society is an indicator of behind-the-scenes political actions or preparation for any changes. It does not require large financial investments and efforts. The effectiveness of information warfare depends on well-designed propaganda based on the feelings and desires of members of society.

Signs of an information war

The essence of information warfare is to influence society through information. Signs of an information war include:

• restricting access to certain information: closing web resources, television programs, printed publications;
• emergence of various information sources with the same information;
• creating a negative psychological background on specific issues;
• the emergence of emotional tension in society;
• penetration of implanted information into various spheres of society: politics, culture, business, education.

Information war - myth or reality

Information wars between countries have become commonplace. Although the use of information propaganda in military conflicts has been known since the 19th century, this type of warfare acquired particular power at the end of the 20th century. This is due to the increase in the number of information resources: newspapers, magazines, television shows, and web resources. The more information a society has freely available, the easier it is to carry out information propaganda.

To wage an information war, there is no need to convince people or impose your point of view on them. You just need to make sure that the suggested information comes across as often as possible and does not cause rejection. At the same time, a person may not even suspect that he has become a participant in information influence. To conduct information warfare, they hire specialists with deep knowledge of marketing, social psychology, politics and history.

Information warfare goals

Conducting an information war is one of the components of the policies of many states. The battle for human minds is not an end in itself, but refers to a set of measures to maintain the security of one’s state or to influence the citizens of another state. Based on this, information warfare has the following goals:

• ensuring the security of your state;
• maintaining patriotic sentiments;
• influence on citizens of another state for the purpose of misinformation and achieving certain goals.

Types of information warfare

Information warfare can be used among the military and among civilians. For this purpose, one of the types of information warfare or a set of measures can be used. Types of information confrontation include:

1. Information warfare on the Internet - different and often contradictory information is offered, used to confuse the enemy.
2. Psychological operations are the selection and presentation of information that sounds like a counter-argument to the mood existing in society.
3. Disinformation is the promotion of false information with the aim of sending the enemy side down the wrong trail.
4. Destruction is the physical destruction or blocking of electronic systems important to the enemy.
5. Security measures - strengthening the protection of your resources in order to preserve plans and intentions.
6. Direct information attacks are a mixture of false and true information.

Methods of information warfare

Information war is called cold because it achieves the desired results without the use of weapons. There are such methods of information warfare among civilians:

1. Involvement of influencers. The essence of this method is to support the necessary actions or slogans by well-known authoritative people.
2. Accurate statements. The desired slogans are presented as one hundred percent true and do not require proof.
3. The winning side. Society is asked to choose a solution that is presented as the best and is winning.
4. Compulsion. This method is often used in slogans and sounds like a precise instruction to action.
5. Substitution of information source. When it is not possible to stop the penetration of unwanted information, its author is called a source that does not enjoy public trust.

Information warfare and propaganda

Information warfare is effectively used in the political sphere. With its help, candidates for office fight for votes. Given the fact that most voters do not have access to true information, psychological influence techniques are used to influence them. Information warfare in the media is a popular way of influencing society. In addition, political propaganda can use the method of substituting information, distorting reality, coercion, and the participation of authorities.

How to protect yourself from information warfare?

Information warfare is used in various fields, but its goal always remains constant: to influence public opinion. Countering information warfare can be difficult, because manipulation and propaganda are developed by experienced specialists. To avoid becoming a victim of information influence, you should consider the opinions of different people on the issue of interest and use diverse sources of information. When understanding a difficult situation, it is worth answering the following questions:

1. What is back side medals of this issue?
2. Who can benefit from this information?
3. To what extent is the issue under consideration covered from different angles?
4. Is there a logical chain and evidence on this matter, or is there direct suggestion, coercion and influence on emotions?

Information wars in the modern world

Thanks to modern technology, the information wars of our time can be waged all over the world. At the same time, it became possible to create a reality that does not correspond to reality. Modern world information wars are waged both between states and within states, between politicians, companies, organizations, and religious denominations. The main weapon in the information war is the media. Full control over them allows us to provide society with only the information that will form the necessary view of the problem.

All fighting in modern world are covered in the media in such a way as to show the need to wage war and create negativity among the warring parties. Recent military conflicts in Syria and Ukraine are clear examples of this. Information warfare and terrorism are also directly related. It is not possible for an ordinary person to understand what is actually happening between the warring parties.

Information wars in politics

Political struggle takes place between political parties, organizations and other political institutions. The information war in this area occurs constantly, but intensifies before government elections. Influencing society with the help of information is carried out in such a way that members of society do not notice it and believe that they are making a choice on their own.

Modern information wars in politics aim to discredit the opponent in the eyes of the public and form the necessary opinion among members of society. To solve these problems, they hire specialists in information sabotage - ivors, who carry out an attack on the opponent using various information sources. The main methods of information attacks are: editing, rumors, myths, threats, bluffs, twisting information.

Information warfare in business

Information warfare in the business system is used to weaken the position of any corporation or enterprise. To conduct a confrontation in this area, the enemy tries to collect as much information as possible on the work of the company with which he competes. Particular attention is paid to the enemy's weaknesses. They are made public in an exaggerated form, showing the failure of the company's work.

Information war - consequences

The consequences of information wars can make themselves felt at the very beginning of the struggle. It is impossible to protect yourself from information influence, since it penetrates into all spheres of human life. The essence of information warfare lies in pressure on society, as a result of which members of society receive a distorted view of reality and are not able to draw the right conclusions and make the right decisions.