Since 1970 every year there is a substantive report written on computer/information/cyber security and what is needed to accomplish it. In 1980 the concepts of computer warfare was really getting going. Though the roots of cyber warfare can be found in the late 1950s work on cybernetics and even further back in the ideas of command and control through technology.

Not that I know much about cyber warfare being an academic and all, but it would seem for anything to rise to the actual level of warfare all of the associated real world effects, needs, issues, and elements of war would have to exist. If zipping a high speed round through the cranial mass of a radio operator is an effective method of interrupting command and control, and a computer network operation has the same capability of interruption without the associated loss of life. How would you rate each on the test for perfidy?

Much of what we see reported in the press would not seem to rise to the level of cyber warfare if our test is correct. Not that I know much about computers but defacing websites, and other hooligan tactics of disruption would not seem to be warfare anymore than riots are warfare. There may be death, and injury but a riot is not war. The Georgia and Estonia examples were very entertaining examples of the power of non-state actors and super-empowered individuals through technology to disrupt but not wage war.

There always seems to be a debate between the low intensity conflict practitioners of COIN, small wars, 4GW etc.. and the High Intensity Conflict practitioners with Armor and 3GW blitzkrieg tactics. Regardless of the thinking behind it cyber warfare is deeply entrenched in the use of the communications systems and in any spectrum of conflict it would seem to be lurking about in the command and control system.

As a separate entity of conflict cyber warfare could be considered to be disruption (severing and changing communications), destruction (wholesale slaughter of bits and bytes), and even kinetic (opening the flood gates on dams, blowing up generators remotely, causing weapons systems to cook off while in storage). But, I recently read that as an academic I likely don't have much to add to this discussion of practitioners.

With that I'm off to have the elbow patches repaired on my sport jacket.