From: iw@all.net
Subject: IW Mailing List iw/960202
---------------------------------------------
From: gaus@znanost.hr (Damir Rajnovic)
Date: Fri, 2 Feb 1996 12:10:58 +0100 (MET)

Information warfare is not limited only to military operations we are
using it almost every day and mostly without even being aware of it. 
When your 'best friend' asks you about your spouse he expects to hear
complaints and you will try to misguide him with your answer - this is
information warfare also.  Maybe we are now paying more attention to it
but this kind of warfare has been present since beginning of human race. 

Now in a more and more computerised world this kind of warfare is
grabbing attention because computers offer a unique opportunity to plant
desired information and spread it quickly.  Computers, better to say
information given by computers, have another very useful property and
that is - most people will take it for granted with no or little doubt -
because "Computers are never wrong!" (that's what are they taught in
school, maybe not but that's a way they think about computers). 

When I think about InfoWar I constantly think about psychology because I
think that it is more important to find a way to plant some information
in such a way that no one will doubt it than what information is about. 
If you succeed you will have the power to control their view of reality
and that is a BIG THING.  I agree that in some circumstances information
is all about but if you have a power to twist someone's reality maybe
you will prevent that circumstance from happening at all. 
---------------------------------------------