CHAPTER – 7
INFORMATON OPERATION
“There is a war out there, old friend- a World War. And it’s not about whose got the most bullets; it’s about who controls the information.” Cosmo, in the 1992 Film “Sneakers”
0701. Introduction
The instruments of national power (diplomatic, informational, military, and economic) provide leaders with the means and ways of dealing with crises around the world. Employing these means in the information environment requires the ability to securely transmit, receive, store, and process information in the real time. The nation’s state and non-state adversaries are equally aware of the significance of new technology, and will use information-related capabilities (IRCs) to gain advantages in the information environment, just as they would use more traditional military technologies to gain advantages in other operational environments. As the strategic environment continues to change, so does Information Operations (IO). Based on these changes, the present world now characterizes IO as the integrated employment, during military operations, of IRCs in concert with other lines of operation to influence, disrupt, corrupt, or take over the decision making of adversaries and potential adversaries while protecting our own.
0702. Background
Information Operations are an evolving construct with roots back to olden times, thus it is both an old and a new concept. The late 1970 world saw the materialization of Information Warfare (IW) and Command and Control Warfare (C2W) as war-fighting constructs integrating several diverse capabilities. These further evolved into Information Operations, recognizing the role of information as an element of power across the spectrum of peace, conflict, and war.
0703. IO Definitions
a. Information: Facts, data or instructions in any medium or form is known as information.
b. Information Operations (IO): Information operations (IO or Info-Ops) are * Any action involving the acquisition, transmission, storage, or transformation of information that enhances the employment of military forces. * The integrated employment, during military operations, of information-related capabilities in concert with other lines of operation to influence, disrupt, corrupt, or usurp the decision-making of adversaries and potential adversaries while protecting our own. * Actions taken to affect an adversary's information and information systems while defending one's own information and information systems.
c. Information Superiority: The state achieved when friendly forces can collect, process and disseminate an uninterrupted flow of information, while exploiting or denying an opponent’s ability to do the same is known as Information Superiority.
d. Information Assurance: Measures taken to safeguard friendly communications and information systems from internal and external interference in such a way that confidentiality, integrity, availability, authentication and non-repudiation of information is assured. Measures include Communications Security (COMSEC), Computer Security (COMPUSEC) and Information Security (INFOSEC).
0704. Concept of IO
The most important concept to remember about IO is that it is not a weapon it is a process. It is an enabler, source multiplier or a tool that increases one's ability to shape the operational environment. IO is a planning methodology, which supports the strategic, operational and tactical use of traditional military forces. It is also a strategy, a campaign, and a process that is supported by traditional military forces. IO does this by using planning tools to synchronize, synergize, and de- conflict activities as well as enabling the horizontal integration of these activities across the whole information spectrum.
0705. Fundamental principles to conduct Information Operations
The fundamental principles that guide the conduct of IO are as follows: * IO consist of all activities conducted in the information domain, and may be applied across the entire spectrum of conflict. * The grand strategic/strategic levels of operations must direct IO. * The principle of centralised control, decentralised execution applies to IO at every level of operations. * IO may be supported or supporting operations and will be integrated into the joint campaign. * A comprehensive understanding of the environment in which IO are to be conducted is critical to their successful planning and conduct. * The human decision-making processes at each level of operations are crucial for IO. * Defensive and offensive objectives must be clearly stated. * Moral, ethical and legal factors will influence the conduct of IO.
0706. Information Operations Categories
There are two mutually supporting categories of IO. IO conducted during conflict is referred to as IW.
INFORMATON OPERATION (IO)
OFFENSIVE IO
DEFENSIVE IO
CIVIL AFFAIRS
PUBLIC AFFAIRS

0708. Offensive Information Operations
Offensive IO involves the integrated use of assigned and supporting capabilities and activities, mutually supported by intelligence, to affect enemy decision-makers and their information and information systems. These capabilities and activities include, but are not limited to operations security (OPSEC), military deception, PSYOP, electronic warfare (EW), physical attack/destruction, and computer network operations (CNO). The human decision-making process is the ultimate target for offensive IO. Offensive IO objectives must be clearly established. They must support overall national and military objectives and include identifiable indicators of success. Selection and employment of specific offensive capabilities against an enemy must be appropriate to the situation. Offensive IO may be the main effort, a supporting effort, or a phase in the military operation. It may be conducted at all levels of war — strategic, operational, and tactical throughout the battle space.

OFFENSIVE IO

EW
PHYCOLOGICAL OPARETION
MILITARY DECEPTION
OPSEC

COMPUTER NETWORK ATTACK
PHYSICAL ATTACK/DESTRUCTION

Goals of offensive IO include:

• Slow down the adversary’s tempo of operations.
• Disrupt the adversary’s operations and plans.
• Disrupt the adversary commander’s ability to generate combat power.
• Degrade the adversary commander’s decision cycle for executing mission orders and movement instructions.
0709. Defensive Information Operations
Defensive IO integrates and coordinates policies and procedures, operations, personnel, and technology to protect and defend friendly information and information systems. Defensive IO is conducted and assisted through information assurance, OPSEC, physical security, counter-deception, counterpropaganda, counterintelligence (CI), and EW. During operational planning an analysis of friendly information systems and their vulnerabilities (nodal analysis) is conducted with a risk assessment in order to determine defensive IO measures and priorities.
DEFENSIVE IO

PHYSICAL SECURITY
COUNTER DECEPTON
COUNTER PROPAGANDA
OPSEC

ELECTRONIC PROTECT
COMPUTER NETWORK DEFENCE
COUNTER INTELLIGENCE
INORMATION ASSURENCE

Goals of defensive IO include: * Ensure timely, accurate, and relevant information access while denying adversaries the opportunity to exploit friendly information and information systems. * Ensure the necessary protection and defense of information and information systems upon which military forces depend to conduct operations and achieve objectives. * Offensive IO also can support defensive IO. * Reduce the adversary’s ability to effect friendly C2, primarily through defensive measures. * Reduce friendly mutual interference in C2 throughout the electromagnetic spectrum.

0710. Other Related Activities

Related activities are operations that are neither offensive nor defensive in nature but must be coordinated with all other IO efforts. Such activities include public affairs (PA) and civil-military operations (CMO). PA and CMO (supported by civil affairs units) are pervasive and continuous. PA and civil military activities on-going within operational area as part of an international, national or battle space shaping initiative. These activities will influence tactical IO/IW plan.

0711. Information Operations and the Levels of War
Although IO is conducted at all levels of war, the purpose and target of IO may differ at each level. The boundaries between these levels may not be distinct and IO actions at one level of war may impact other levels.

a. Strategic Level of War. IO may be included in the spectrum of activities directed by the National Command Authorities to achieve national objectives by influencing or affecting all elements (political, military, economic, or informational) of an enemy’s or potential enemy’s national power while protecting similar friendly elements.

b. Operational Level of War. The focus of IO at this level is to affect enemy communications, support, command and control, and related capabilities and activities while protecting similar friendly capabilities and activities. Operational level IO may contribute to achieving strategic objectives by degrading an enemy’s capability to organize, command, deploy, and sustain military forces and capabilities and by allowing military forces to obtain and maintain the degree of information superiority required to quickly and decisively accomplish its mission.

c. Tactical Level of War. IO, called Information Warfare during conflict, at this level facilitates achieving specific tactical objectives. The primary focus of IO is to affect enemy information and information systems relating to C2, intelligence, and other information-based processes directly relating to the conduct of military operations while protecting similar friendly capabilities.

0712. IO, IW, and C2W Relationship

IO is not about ownership of individual capabilities but rather the use of those capabilities as force multipliers to create a desired effect. There are many military capabilities that contribute to IO and should be taken into consideration during the planning process. These include: strategic communications, joint interagency coordination group, public affairs, civil-military operations, cyberspace operations(CO), information assurance, space operations, military information support operations (MISO), intelligence, military deception (MILDEC), operations security (OPSEC), special technical operations, joint electromagnetic spectrum operations, and key leader engagement.

Information warfare (IW) may involve collection of tactical information, assurance that own information is valid, spreading of propaganda to demoralize or manipulate the enemy and the public, undermining the quality of opposing force information and denial of information collection opportunities to opposing forces. Information warfare is closely linked to information operation. Most of the rest of the world use the much broader term of “Information Operations (IO)” which, although making use of technology, focuses on the more human-related aspects of information use, including social network analysis, decision analysis and the human aspects of Command and Control.

Comparing C2W with IO measures, the physical destruction in C2W and the computer network operations in the IO, these are only activities that are different. And also, the support capabilities and the related capabilities in IO are disappeared in the C2W. The missing capabilities are involved mostly in the cognitive domain. Command and Control Warfare (C2W) is a war fighting application of IW in military operations and employs various techniques and technologies to attack or protect command and control and is the integrated use of psychological operations, military deception, operations security, electronic warfare, and physical destruction, mutually supported by intelligence.

0713. Information Operation Planning
Thorough planning is the key to the successful implementation of IO. Planners must ensure that IO planning begins at the earlier stage of operation planning, is nested within the IO plans of the higher headquarters, and fully integrated into the unit operation plan. The IO cell and the Marine Corps Planning Process (MCPP) are two important tools in successful IO planning.
a. The Information Operations Cell: The IO cell is a task-organized group of individuals brought together within a military force and higher headquarters to focus a variety of separate disciplines and functions on IO for the command. A fully functioning IO cell integrates a broad range of potential IO actions and related activities that contribute to accomplishing the mission. Ensuring that IO is an integral part of all operations requires extensive planning and coordination among all the elements of the staff. The IO cell is the mechanism for achieving that coordination.
b. The Marine Corps Planning Process: The MCPP supports decision making by the commander. It is also a vehicle that conveys the commander’s decisions to his subordinates. Since planning is an essential and significant part of command and control, the MCPP recognizes the commander’s central role as the decision-maker. It helps organize the thought processes of a commander and his staff throughout the planning and execution of military operations. The MCPP focuses on the mission and the threat. It is applicable across the range of military operations and is designed for use at any echelon of command.
0714. Legal and policy issues

IO may involve complex legal and policy issues requiring careful review and national-level coordination and approval. a. IO planners must understand the different legal limitations that may be placed on IO in peacetime, crisis, and conflict (to include war). Legal analysis of intended wartime targets requires traditional Law of War analysis. b. IO planners at all levels should consider the following broad areas: (1) Domestic and international criminal and civil laws (2) International treaties and agreements and customary international law, as applied to IO. (3) Structure and relationships among intelligence organizations and general interagency relationships, including nongovernmental organizations. c. Geographic combatant commanders should ensure that IO are considered in the development of their theater strategies and campaign plans.
0715. Conclusion
In the modern warfare, there are many dimensional activities must be conducted. The Information Operations (IO) is one of the most important activities to win the war. It concerns all domains that are related to achieve the objectives. There are many activities that be defined to win the war in their own domains. The goal of information operation is to established information dominance in the whole theater of war. Therefore, the commander must collaborate all activities into the same effort.