Information War Could Dramatically Impact Next War

August 1, 2013

Senior officers from the Ground Forces with the rank of colonel and above participated in the conference, which focused on cyber threats on the modern battlefield.

“At any given moment, underneath the surface, there exists an information war which could dramatically impact the next war and its results,” Maj. Gen. Zur stated. “We must not underestimate the enemy—which is developing very significant capabilities regarding this threat—[so that] the awareness that this convention is intended to strengthen will prevent that threat from being a reality.”

During the conference, the Ground Forces’ senior command was presented with the technological capabilities of terror organizations and hostile nations, alongside the IDF’s solutions to such threats. In addition to tracking and surveillance technologies, the conference emphasized the human element in the cyber struggle.

“The world is becoming a global village, where we all experience mass communication. We are flooded with communications devices of every kind, where the information is available, accessible to everyone and published in real time,” said Lt. Col. Ofer, commander of the Ground Forces’ information security unit.

“This situation has been created in the military, too,” he continued. “As a result, we are exposed to the chance of leaking much more information than in the past, and that obligates us to know how to protect our secrets in a much better way.”

Source: Yehonatan Sar, Israel Defense Forces

Photo Credit: Sergey Nivens/Sangoiri/Shutterstock.com