• US governmental agencies. • Nongovernmental organizations. • Agencies that coordinate international efforts. • Social and cultural elements, and their leaders. • Leaders of other Services, multinational partners, and adversaries. • Individuals able to communicate with a worldwide audience. • The news media.
1-5. All military operations take place within the information environment,
much of which is largely outside the control of Army forces. Commanders
consider the political and social implications that isolated small unit actions
might produce. Within this context, commanders face many new challenges and
opportunities. The complex relationship among political, strategic, technological,
and military factors requires adopting a broad perspective of how operations
and the information environment affect each other.
INFORMATION-ENVIRONMENT-BASED THREATS
Threat Capabilities and Sources
1-6. Information-environment-based threats target one of three objects: commanders
and other important decisionmakers, C2 systems, or information
systems (INFOSYS). The Army defines a command and control system as the
arrangement of personnel, information management, procedures, and equipment
and facilities essential to the commander to conduct operations (FM 6-0).
The Army defines information systems as the equipment and facilities that
collect, process, store, display, and disseminate information. This includes
computers—hardware and software—and communications, as well as policies
and procedures for their use (FM 3-0). C2 systems contain INFOSYS. Preventing
commanders from exercising effective C2 is the goal of adversaries operating
in the information environment. They seek to achieve it by attacking C2 systems
or the INFOSYS they contain.
1-7. Threats against friendly C2 systems vary across the spectrum of conflict
(peace, crisis, and war) and by potential adversaries’ technical capabilities
and motivation (see FM 3-0). Threats have many sources and use many attack
methods. Commanders and staffs evaluate them based on several criteria—
some technical, some not. The following paragraphs discuss threat capabilities
and sources, methods of attack, and evaluation criteria.
1-8. Most threats to units engaged in offensive, defensive, and stability operations
are straightforward and familiar. During these types of operations,
commanders expect adversaries to conduct some form of IO against them and
their C2 systems. They assume that adversaries will use multiple means to
try to deny them information, cast doubts on information they have, and disrupt
their decisionmaking process. However, the information environment contains
other threats as well. These threats are worldwide, technically multifaceted,
and growing. They come from a range of sources with varying capabilities—
from individuals, to organizations, to nation-states. Military, political, social,
cultural, ethnic, religious, or personal factors may motivate them. Commanders
anticipate these threats, prepare defenses, and—when appropriate—conduct IO
against them.
