Fourth Generation Warfare

[Vivelamorte]

Hi!

This is a very good website for people interested in 4GW (and stuff like OotW, LIC, RMA etc. etc.):

http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/

Makes good reading alongside Ronfeldt, Arquilla, van Creveld etc.

Cheers!

[sethen]

Hi!

This is a very good website for people interested in 4GW (and stuff like OotW, LIC, RMA etc. etc.):

http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/

Makes good reading alongside Ronfeldt, Arquilla, van Creveld etc.

Cheers!

Hey, that was a pretty interesting site! CHINA is also an advocate of 4th

generation warfare!!! *HINT HINT*

[Vivelamorte]

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=19734

China planning cyberwar against Taiwan, US says

Telecomms, mobile phones targeted

By INQUIRER staff: Wednesday 17 November 2004, 10:54
COMMUNIST CHINA is planning cyberwar against Taiwan, a senior US official told island business leaders last month.

TheTaipei Times, running an Associated Press story, said that Richard Lawless, a deputy undersecretary of defence, briefed businessmen about the Chinese plans.

AP got hold of the report by using the US Freedom of Information act.

Lawless told the Taiwanese that China is developing plans "to create chaos" on the island by targeting its IT infrastructure, including mobile phones, the Internet, and other elements.

That would effectively cut Taiwan off from the rest of the world, according to Lawless.

China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory, and bitterly opposes any plans that it may have for independence.

The article is here. µ

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/11/17/2003211401

China boosting cyberwar ability
INFORMATION BLOCKADE: A US official told a business group last month that China is bolstering its ability to attack Taiwan's power, Internet and communications grids

AP , TAIPEI
Wednesday, Nov 17, 2004,Page 2

China is developing the means to electronically blockade rival Taiwan with attacks to the country's vital utilities, the Internet and other communications networks, a high-ranking US defense official has said.

The stern warning was issued by Richard Lawless -- deputy undersecretary of defense -- during a closed-door meeting with business leaders last month in the US. A copy of Lawless' speech was obtained by The Associated Press yesterday under the US Freedom of Information Act.

Lawless cautioned that if a war broke out between Taiwan and China, the first casualties might not be "brave men and women in uniform." He said China might first target things that keep Taiwan's high-tech society running.

"China is actively developing options to create chaos on the island, to compromise components of Taiwan's critical infrastructure: telecommunications, utilities, broadcast media, cellular, Internet and computer networks," Lawless said on Oct. 4 to the US-Taiwan Business Council.

``Taiwan could be electronically blockaded, isolated from the world, creating a kind of perfect storm in which the US could not communicate with Taiwan or Taiwan with the world,'' Lawless said during the council's meeting in the southwestern city of Scottsdale, Arizona.

Lawless said such a strategy could be called an "acupuncture" attack aimed at "the destruction of a national will" with "the insertion of a hundred needles."

Beijing insists that self-ruled, democratic Taiwan is part of China and has repeatedly threatened to attack if the Taiwanese seek a permanent split or delay too long on unification.

Much of the debate over whether China will invade has focused on China's growing arsenal of destroyers, jets, submarines and hundreds of missiles aimed at Taiwan, just 160km off China's southern coast.

But in recent years, analysts have touted the possibility that China could be developing new high-tech weapons that could give the Chinese an edge over US forces -- which are widely expected to help defend Taiwan.

Lawless said that several recent incidents have exposed vulnerabilities in Taiwan's critical infrastructure and communication systems and that China is aware of these weak spots.

In 1999, the loss of a single transformer station on Taiwan "left thousands without power for weeks," while a massive earthquake the same year "left Taiwan dependent on satellite communications to the outside world for more than a month."

"Many feared China would attempt to take advantage of Taiwan's ill fortune," Lawless said.

Taiwan must do more to safeguard telecommunications, fiber optics, energy supplies and major transportation arteries, and should consider allowing private agencies to assist in national defense, he said.

"Taiwan is one of the most technologically advanced societies in the world, but the expertise and wealth of experience that exist in the private sector remains largely untapped," he said.
This story has been viewed 2458 times.

# Advertising
Copyright © 1999-2004 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. [/url]

[sethen]

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=19734

China planning cyberwar against Taiwan, US says

Telecomms, mobile phones targeted

By INQUIRER staff: Wednesday 17 November 2004, 10:54
COMMUNIST CHINA is planning cyberwar against Taiwan, a senior US official told island business leaders last month.

TheTaipei Times, running an Associated Press story, said that Richard Lawless, a deputy undersecretary of defence, briefed businessmen about the Chinese plans.

AP got hold of the report by using the US Freedom of Information act.

Lawless told the Taiwanese that China is developing plans "to create chaos" on the island by targeting its IT infrastructure, including mobile phones, the Internet, and other elements.

That would effectively cut Taiwan off from the rest of the world, according to Lawless.

China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory, and bitterly opposes any plans that it may have for independence.

The article is here. µ

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/11/17/2003211401

China boosting cyberwar ability
INFORMATION BLOCKADE: A US official told a business group last month that China is bolstering its ability to attack Taiwan's power, Internet and communications grids

AP , TAIPEI
Wednesday, Nov 17, 2004,Page 2

China is developing the means to electronically blockade rival Taiwan with attacks to the country's vital utilities, the Internet and other communications networks, a high-ranking US defense official has said.

The stern warning was issued by Richard Lawless -- deputy undersecretary of defense -- during a closed-door meeting with business leaders last month in the US. A copy of Lawless' speech was obtained by The Associated Press yesterday under the US Freedom of Information Act.

Lawless cautioned that if a war broke out between Taiwan and China, the first casualties might not be "brave men and women in uniform." He said China might first target things that keep Taiwan's high-tech society running.

"China is actively developing options to create chaos on the island, to compromise components of Taiwan's critical infrastructure: telecommunications, utilities, broadcast media, cellular, Internet and computer networks," Lawless said on Oct. 4 to the US-Taiwan Business Council.

``Taiwan could be electronically blockaded, isolated from the world, creating a kind of perfect storm in which the US could not communicate with Taiwan or Taiwan with the world,'' Lawless said during the council's meeting in the southwestern city of Scottsdale, Arizona.

Lawless said such a strategy could be called an "acupuncture" attack aimed at "the destruction of a national will" with "the insertion of a hundred needles."

Beijing insists that self-ruled, democratic Taiwan is part of China and has repeatedly threatened to attack if the Taiwanese seek a permanent split or delay too long on unification.

Much of the debate over whether China will invade has focused on China's growing arsenal of destroyers, jets, submarines and hundreds of missiles aimed at Taiwan, just 160km off China's southern coast.

But in recent years, analysts have touted the possibility that China could be developing new high-tech weapons that could give the Chinese an edge over US forces -- which are widely expected to help defend Taiwan.

Lawless said that several recent incidents have exposed vulnerabilities in Taiwan's critical infrastructure and communication systems and that China is aware of these weak spots.

In 1999, the loss of a single transformer station on Taiwan "left thousands without power for weeks," while a massive earthquake the same year "left Taiwan dependent on satellite communications to the outside world for more than a month."

"Many feared China would attempt to take advantage of Taiwan's ill fortune," Lawless said.

Taiwan must do more to safeguard telecommunications, fiber optics, energy supplies and major transportation arteries, and should consider allowing private agencies to assist in national defense, he said.

"Taiwan is one of the most technologically advanced societies in the world, but the expertise and wealth of experience that exist in the private sector remains largely untapped," he said.
This story has been viewed 2458 times.

# Advertising
Copyright © 1999-2004 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. [/url]


Yes, thats what I meant! woot

[Vivelamorte]

China has grasped what we call the RMA as a chance to modernize it's military and attain status of a superpower. All policies concerning technological development are to the advantage of establishing own high-tech industries, and own standards. The aim is technological independence from the rest of the world, and boosting the economy.

The list is endless on proprietary tech they're working on - cellular radio for instance, or WLAN, processors, OSes (Red Flag Linux, for instance), etc. etc. etc.

The benefits are own specs for wire tapping and SIGINT which can be employed within China itself, Chinese technology for the Chinese (and world) market made by Chinese companies - no licence fees, no risk of backdoors etc.

The whole Echelon discussion got really ugly in the 90ies when the Swedes noticed that their supposedly encrypted communications software possessed a so-called Workforce Reduction Factor, which basically meant that communications were encrypted with a lower bit-count (I hope that's right, I have some holes in my English vocabulary) than advertised, where a key made up the remaining bits. The snag was that the key could be employed by the NSA to decrypt the message.....

I wouldn't want to have been a diplomat back then....

The whole encryption and privacy issue still is a big thing nowadays, although the main view is that strong encryption and security systems are a benefit, because it limits any damage.

Still, there are a few numbskull politicians who have no idea what they're talking about when they demand that cryptography and steganography should be abolished etc. etc. Ah well....

I still have a big tome from the National Research Council entitled "Cryptographys Role in Securing the Information Society" (abbreviated CRISIS, which naturally sounds dramatic and buzzy). Still haven't read it completely, but it was a policy advisory.

Army FM 100-6 and 3-0 have all the guidelines: http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm100-6/
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/3-0/

Before that there was the directive TS-3600 from 1992 on Information Warfare, which first described the concept, but I don't know if it's somewhere on the net, perhaps at Cryptome.org.

Infowar and 4GW is probably one of the hottest topics in the militaries around the world nowadays....

Take the Internet for instance! A report was released a few years back that an attacker could've taken down part of the internet simply by destroying two non-secured hubs (or nodes?) in the Netherlands. It would've had disastrous consequences for half of Europe.

What would be interesting is to figure out the next sort of terrorist attack and buy put options on the industries it would hit. Or simply buy gold.[/url]

[sethen]

Ever read Alvin Toffler's, " Third Wave?"

[Vivelamorte]

Yes, but it's not really that great, it starkly reduces complexity, or oversimplifies things. But then, I guess it caused wave outside of academia when it first appeared. I certainly respect him for what he achieved.

Personally, I rather more enjoy the work of Manuel Castells and the whole RAND publications. I'm not really a fan of Huntingtons idea of the Clash of Civilizations, because it more or less rules out the possibility of cultural change, defining a culture as a static thingy, which they aren't.

The French author Michel Houllebecq recommended plastering the Middle East with miniskirts and nylons would have more effect than any bombing, and he's quite right. Look how the ****** revolution changed western societies - now even men have to compete for the best mate! 'Twas only the women a hundred years ago.... ;)

Anyway, like I said, RAND has good stuff (edited by David Ronfeldt and John Arquilla) and Castells is great. There's also a Information Age Student Reader which is good reading, but I'd have to walk down the stairs now to tell you the title, and I'm going to bed right now.