Warfare has evolved over centuries, and now it has reached a new tangent. Conquests are not geographical but civilizational. Countries capture the cyberspace of their competitors and intimidate them, thereby setting a perception of superiority despite being weak militarily. Every like, upvote, repost, comment, and share that we do is a scuffle, while the platform is the battleground. The ones leading this race are not the most advanced economies. Stock markets can be crashed, misinformation can sound like the ultimate truth, economic sanctions can be imposed, and governments can be toppled by a group of protestors.
The worst part is, the ones leading the race are not economic superpowers but nations that hardly have basic amenities like food and shelter for their citizens. Why? Because hatred towards their neighbour is the food they consume. This is fifth-generation warfare, which involves no arms, ammunition, or military might, but a group of targeted information and perception battles. Social media profiles and media news outlets that spew venom and mock your growth. Irrespective of them begging for their next meal.
When did fifth-generation warfare start?
At a time when fourth-generation warfare was at its peak came the 2001 anthrax attack. And the 2003 ricin letters. These two incidents are potentially seen as the beginning of fifth-generation warfare. Some researchers still saw it as an extension of the fourth-generation warfare. On the other hand, some even rubbished the claims as an isolated incident without any geopolitical impact.
However, large misinformation campaigns surfaced during the European Union’s (EU) referendum that took place in the United Kingdom (UK), which voted largely for the UK’s exit from the EU. Reportedly, a mass misinformation campaign was conceptualized to influence the common citizens to vote.
And the second instance that proved the mass misinformation campaign was during the 2016 US presidential election campaign. Misinformation and fake news from both ends dominated the election that eventually led to a lower net favourability rate for both the candidates. And the rest is history. Moreover, it was also claimed that Russian hackers were spreading fake news that favoured Trump.
The most recent happenings…
The ongoing Ukraine-Russia War witnessed hybrid warfare with disinformation and misinformation campaigns ruling the narrative. Western media claims that Russia used hybrid warfare, spreading disinformation in an effort to intimidate citizens of Ukraine. On the other hand, during the recent conflict between India and Pakistan, i.e., Operation Sindoor, Pakistani media outlets claimed to have shot down India’s fighter jets (then declared as fake news by India). And the disinformation campaign, which is still ongoing in the Israel-Gaza conflict, has created ripple effects across the world.
Which countries are known to run information warfare?
In several public forums America has claimed that China, Russia, Iran, and other countries have run an information warfare campaign against the USA for years, and it is continuing. Some media reports also claim that Iran oppresses its people through information warfare. The most unspoken humanitarian crisis of the 21st century is Sudan’s civil war. This was a large-scale orchestrated disinformation campaign. While only 30 per cent of the population having access to the internet, rumours were spread ear-to-ear and reached every village, making way for large-scale chaos.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are always in continuous conflict due to the scale of misinformation being spread about each other in the public domain. Reports claim that Afghanistan orchestrated the Imran Khan is dead campaign recently to cause chaos in Pakistan. On the other hand, some exist, which apparently says that China made an attempt to suppress India’s supremacy over Pakistan during Operation Sindoor and declare it as Pakistan’s victory.
Role of emerging technologies
Technology is the tool for information warfare. In fact, we can even say technology is the enabler. Over the years, AI-powered social media bots, the creation of cyber weapons, and deepfake videos have emerged. Even though governments and law enforcement authorities are attempting to build a robust infrastructure to defend their in-house networks, miscreants from hostile neighbors always find a loophole.
How are countries defending their cyberspace?
India, Israel, the United States of America, and other nations are often the victims of these cyberattacks. This is because the offenders are using cyber guerrilla tactics as the first line of defense and diverting their attention. However, defending nations are becoming cautious of the world happenings and building their defensive capabilities on all fronts. Military personnel are now trained on non-kinetic military operations as well as public-private partnerships to build a sense of transparency.
However, predicting the next pattern should be a focal point to take control of the ecosystem rather than defending.
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