Australian military is to use new cyber warfare after Snowden's revelations
8 May 2014, 09:10 -- The Australian Defence Force is about to begin using cyber warfare for various military operations in the near future. Official ADF documents do not explain how the use of it will influence the Australian people. Previously, the Australian government has expressed the desire and need to protect their country from cyber threats and various foreign spying. However, it is due to the release of the ADF new 'Information Activities' report last November that launches the start of Australia being engaged in the cyber activities.
The aim of the so-called information operations is to 'persuade, convince, deter, disrupt, compel or coerce' people who are part of foreign governments and military units as well as 'domestic players such as the general public and government.'
Another measure that will be used by the ADF is conducting 'computer network operations', better known as cyber warfare, which will protect domestic information and data networks.
Part of the ADF's doctrine is to use 'manipulation, distortion, or falsification of evidence ... to influence the mind, decisions and actions of the adversary ... to form inaccurate impressions about friendly forces, squander intelligence assets, or fail to use other resources to best advantage.'
'Some information-related capabilities are quite technical in nature and may require long lead times to be able to support the operation,' the document says.
The push to implement new cyber warfare was obviously made by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden who has revealed a lot of documents that he gathered during his work in NSA.
Professor Des Ball and Dr Gary Waters, signals intelligence and cyber warfare experts have recently published a paper where they have noted that the Australian Signals Directorate is 'a privileged party to cyber warfare developments in the United States and the United Kingdom.'
'Australia strives to ensure that nothing is disclosed about these activities,' Ball and Waters observe. 'But there are aspects of operational planning which ultimately cannot be disguised, including the development and assimilation of doctrine within the ADF and the procurement of particular capabilities.'
According to the new ADF statement, information operations often involve 'complex legal and policy questions; requiring not just local review, but national-level co-ordination and approval.'
The ADF states that there is a need to instantly deal with people who present any danger, even if those people are Australians. Despite that, there is no hint on any guidance on the questions related to propaganda through Internet or the way media should react to any events taking place in the world.
'It is important to nurture public trust by providing clear, timely and accurate information in order to remain responsive to public expectations,' the ADF's new doctrine adds.
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