- "It is completely clear that the state which is
first to create suchweapons will achieve incomparable superiority."
- Major I. Chernishev, Russian Army[1]
-
-
- The human body, much like a computer, contains myriad
data processors. They include, but are not limited to, the chemical-electrical
activity of the brain, heart, and peripheral nervous system, the signals
sent from the cortex region of the brain to other parts of our body, the
tiny hair cells in the inner ear that process auditory signals, and the
light-sensitive retina and cornea of the eye that process visual activity.[2]
We are on the threshold of an era in which these data processors of the
human body may be manipulated or debilitated. Examples of unplanned attacks
on the body's data-processing capability are well-documented. Strobe lights
have been known to cause epileptic seizures. Not long ago in Japan, children
watching television cartoons were subjected to pulsating lights that caused
seizures in some and made others very sick.
-
- Defending friendly and targeting adversary data-processing
capabilities of the body appears to be an area of weakness in the US approach
to information warfare theory, a theory oriented heavily toward systems
data-processing and designed to attain information dominance on the battlefield.
Or so it would appear from information in the open, unclassified press.
This US shortcoming may be a serious one, since the capabilities to alter
the data- processing systems of the body already exist. A recent edition
of U.S. News and World Report highlighted several of these "wonder
weapons" (acoustics, microwaves, lasers) and noted that scientists
are "searching the electromagnetic and sonic spectrums for wavelengths
that can affect human behavior."[3] A recent Russian military article
offered a slightly different slant to the problem, declaring that "humanity
stands on the brink of a psychotronic war" with the mind and body
as the focus. That article discussed Russian and international attempts
to control the psycho-physical condition of man and his decisionmaking
processes by the use of VHF-generators, "noiseless cassettes,"
and other technologies.
-
- An entirely new arsenal of weapons, based on devices
designed to introduce subliminal messages or to alter the body's psychological
and data-processing capabilities, might be used to incapacitate individuals.
These weapons aim to control or alter the psyche, or to attack the various
sensory and data-processing systems of the human organism. In both cases,
the goal is to confuse or destroy the signals that normally keep the body
in equilibrium.
-
- This article examines energy-based weapons, psychotronic
weapons, and other developments designed to alter the ability of the human
body to process stimuli. One consequence of this assessment is that the
way we commonly use the term "information warfare" falls short
when the individual soldier, not his equipment, becomes the target of
attack.
-
- Information Warfare Theory and the Data-Processing Element
of Humans
-
- In the United States the common conception of information
warfare focuses primarily on the capabilities of hardware systems such
as computers, satellites, and military equipment which process data in
its various forms. According to Department of Defense Directive S-3600.1
of 9 December 1996, information warfare is defined as "an information
operation conducted during time of crisis or conflict to achieve or promote
specific objectives over a specific adversary or adversaries." An
information operation is defined in the same directive as "actions
taken to affect adversary information and information systems while defending
one's own information and information systems." These "information
systems" lie at the heart of the modernization effort of the US armed
forces and other countries, and manifest themselves as hardware, software,
communications capabilities, and highly trained individuals. Recently,
the US Army conducted a mock battle that tested these systems under simulated
combat conditions.
-
- US Army Field Manual 101-5-1, Operational Terms and Graphics
(released 30 September 1997), defines information warfare as "actions
taken to achieve information superiority by affecting a hostile's information,
information based-processes, and information systems, while defending
one's own information, information processes, and information systems."
The same manual defines information operations as a "continuous military
operation within the military information environment that enables, enhances,
and protects friendly forces' ability to collect, process, and act on
information to achieve an advantage across the full range of military
operations. [Information operations include] interacting with the Global
Information Environment . . . and exploiting or denying an adversary's
information and decision capabilities."[4]
-
- This "systems" approach to the study of information
warfare emphasizes the use of data, referred to as information, to penetrate
an adversary's physical defenses that protect data (information) in order
to obtain operational or strategic advantage. It has tended to ignore the
role of the human body as an information- or data-processor in this quest
for dominance except in those cases where an individual's logic or rational
thought may be upset via disinformation or deception. As a consequence
little attention is directed toward protecting the mind and body with
a firewall as we have done with hardware systems. Nor have any techniques
for doing so been prescribed. Yet the body is capable not only of being
deceived, manipulated, or misinformed but also shut down or destroyed--just
as any other data-processing system. The "data" the body receives
from external sources--such as electromagnetic, vortex, or acoustic energy
waves--or creates through its own electrical or chemical stimuli can be
manipulated or changed just as the data (information) in any hardware
system can be altered.
-
- The only body-related information warfare element considered
by the United States is psychological operations (PSYOP). In Joint Publication
3-13.1, for example, PSYOP is listed as one of the elements of command
and control warfare. The publication notes that "the ultimate target
of [information warfare] is the information dependent process, whether
human or automated . . . . Command and control warfare (C2W) is an application
of information warfare in military operations. . . . C2W is the integrated
use of PSYOP, military deception, operations security, electronic warfare
and physical destruction."[5]
-
- One source defines information as a "nonaccidental
signal used as an input to a computer or communications system."[6]
The human body is a complex communication system constantly receiving nonaccidental
and accidental signal inputs, both external and internal. If the ultimate
target of information warfare is the information-dependent process, "whether
human or automated," then the definition in the joint publication
implies that human data-processing of internal and external signals can
clearly be considered an aspect of information warfare. Foreign researchers
have noted the link between humans as data processors and the conduct
of information warfare. While some study only the PSYOP link, others go
beyond it. As an example of the former, one recent Russian article described
offensive information warfare as designed to "use the Internet channels
for the purpose of organizing PSYOP as well as for `early political warning'
of threats to American interests."[7] The author's assertion was based
on the fact that "all mass media are used for PSYOP . . . [and] today
this must include the Internet." The author asserted that the Pentagon
wanted to use the Internet to "reinforce psychological influences"
during special operations conducted outside of US borders to enlist sympathizers,
who would accomplish many of the tasks previously entrusted to special
units of the US armed forces.
-
- Others, however, look beyond simple PSYOP ties to consider
other aspects of the body's data-processing capability. One of the principal
open source researchers on the relationship of information warfare to
the body's data-processing capability is Russian Dr. Victor Solntsev of
the Baumann Technical Institute in Moscow. Solntsev is a young, well-intentioned
researcher striving to point out to the world the potential dangers of
the computer operator interface. Supported by a network of institutes
and academies, Solntsev has produced some interesting concepts.[8] He
insists that man must be viewed as an open system instead of simply as
an organism or closed system. As an open system, man communicates with
his environment through information flows and communications media. One's
physical environment, whether through electromagnetic, gravitational, acoustic,
or other effects, can cause a change in the psycho-physiological condition
of an organism, in Solntsev's opinion. Change of this sort could directly
affect the mental state and consciousness of a computer operator. This
would not be electronic war or information warfare in the traditional
sense, but rather in a nontraditional and non-US sense. It might encompass,
for example, a computer modified to become a weapon by using its energy
output to emit acoustics that debilitate the operator. It also might encompass,
as indicated below, futuristic weapons aimed against man's "open
system."
-
- Solntsev also examined the problem of "information
noise," which creates a dense shield between a person and external
reality. This noise may manifest itself in the form of signals, messages,
images, or other items of information. The main target of this noise would
be the consciousness of a person or a group of people. Behavior modification
could be one objective of information noise; another could be to upset
an individual's mental capacity to such an extent as to prevent reaction
to any stimulus. Solntsev concludes that all levels of a person's psyche
(subconscious, conscious, and "superconscious") are potential
targets for destabilization.
-
- According to Solntsev, one computer virus capable of
affecting a person's psyche is Russian Virus 666. It manifests itself in
every 25th frame of a visual display, where it produces a combination
of colors that allegedly put computer operators into a trance. The subconscious
perception of the new pattern eventually results in arrhythmia of the
heart. Other Russian computer specialists, not just Solntsev, talk openly
about this "25th frame effect" and its ability to subtly manage
a computer user's perceptions. The purpose of this technique is to inject
a thought into the viewer's subconscious. It may remind some of the subliminal
advertising controversy in the United States in the late 1950s.
-
- US Views on "Wonder Weapons": Altering the
Data-Processing Ability of the Body
-
- What technologies have been examined by the United States
that possess the potential to disrupt the data-processing capabilities
of the human organism? The 7 July 1997 issue of U.S. News and World Report
described several of them designed, among other things, to vibrate the
insides of humans, stun or nauseate them, put them to sleep, heat them
up, or knock them down with a shock wave.[9] The technologies include
dazzling lasers that can force the pupils to close; acoustic or sonic
frequencies that cause the hair cells in the inner ear to vibrate and
cause motion sickness, vertigo, and nausea, or frequencies that resonate
the internal organs causing pain and spasms; and shock waves with the
potential to knock down humans or airplanes and which can be mixed with
pepper spray or chemicals.[10]
-
- With modification, these technological applications can
have many uses. Acoustic weapons, for example, could be adapted for use
as acoustic rifles or as acoustic fields that, once established, might
protect facilities, assist in hostage rescues, control riots, or clear
paths for convoys. These waves, which can penetrate buildings, offer a
host of opportunities for military and law enforcement officials. Microwave
weapons, by stimulating the peripheral nervous system, can heat up the
body, induce epileptic-like seizures, or cause cardiac arrest. Low-frequency
radiation affects the electrical activity of the brain and can cause flu-like
symptoms and nausea. Other projects sought to induce or prevent sleep,
or to affect the signal from the motor cortex portion of the brain, overriding
voluntary muscle movements. The latter are referred to as pulse wave weapons,
and the Russian government has reportedly bought over 100,000 copies of
the "Black Widow" version of them.[11]
-
- However, this view of "wonder weapons" was
contested by someone who should understand them. Brigadier General Larry
Dodgen, Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Policy and Missions,
wrote a letter to the editor about the "numerous inaccuracies"
in the U.S. News and World Report article that "misrepresent the
Department of Defense's views."[12] Dodgen's primary complaint seemed
to have been that the magazine misrepresented the use of these technologies
and their value to the armed forces. He also underscored the US intent
to work within the scope of any international treaty concerning their
application, as well as plans to abandon (or at least redesign) any weapon
for which countermeasures are known. One is left with the feeling, however,
that research in this area is intense. A concern not mentioned by Dodgen
is that other countries or non-state actors may not be bound by the same
constraints. It is hard to imagine someone with a greater desire than
terrorists to get their hands on these technologies. "Psycho-terrorism"
could be the next buzzword.
-
- Russian Views on "Psychotronic War"
-
- The term "psycho-terrorism" was coined by Russian
writer N. Anisimov of the Moscow Anti-Psychotronic Center. According to
Anisimov, psychotronic weapons are those that act to "take away a
part of the information which is stored in a man's brain. It is sent to
a computer, which reworks it to the level needed for those who need to
control the man, and the modified information is then reinserted into
the brain." These weapons are used against the mind to induce hallucinations,
sickness, mutations in human cells, "zombification," or even
death. Included in the arsenal are VHF generators, X-rays, ultrasound,
and radio waves. Russian army Major I. Chernishev, writing in the military
journal Orienteer in February 1997, asserted that "psy" weapons
are under development all over the globe. Specific types of weapons noted
by Chernishev (not all of which have prototypes) were:
-
- * A psychotronic generator, which produces a powerful
electromagnetic emanation capable of being sent through telephone lines,
TV, radio networks, supply pipes, and incandescent lamps. * An
autonomous generator, a device that operates in the 10-150 Hertz band,
which at the 10-20 Hertz band forms an infrasonic oscillation that is destructive
to all living creatures. * A nervous system generator, designed to
paralyze the central nervous systems of insects, which could have
the same applicability to humans. * Ultrasound emanations, which one
institute claims to have developed. Devices using ultrasound emanations
are supposedly capable of carrying out bloodless internal operations without
leaving a mark on the skin. They can also, according to Chernishev, be
used to kill. * Noiseless cassettes. Chernishev claims that the Japanese
have developed the ability to place infra-low frequency voice patterns
over music, patterns that are detected by the subconscious. Russians claim
to be using similar "bombardments" with computer programming
to treat alcoholism or smoking. * The 25th-frame effect, alluded to
above, a technique wherein each 25th frame of a movie reel or film
footage contains a message that is picked up by the subconscious.
This technique, if it works, could possibly be used to curb smoking
and alcoholism, but it has wider, more sinister applications if used
on a TV audience or a computer operator. * Psychotropics, defined
as medical preparations used to induce a trance, euphoria, or depression.
Referred to as "slow-acting mines," they could be slipped
into the food of a politician or into the water supply of an entire
city. Symptoms include headaches, noises, voices or commands in the
brain, dizziness, pain in the abdominal cavities, cardiac arrhythmia, or
even the destruction of the cardiovascular system.
-
- There is confirmation from US researchers that this type
of study is going on. Dr. Janet Morris, coauthor of The Warrior's Edge,
reportedly went to the Moscow Institute of Psychocorrelations in 1991.
There she was shown a technique pioneered by the Russian Department of
Psycho-Correction at Moscow Medical Academy in which researchers electronically
analyze the human mind in order to influence it. They input subliminal
command messages, using key words transmitted in "white noise"
or music. Using an infra-sound, very low frequency transmission, the acoustic
psycho-correction message is transmitted via bone conduction.[13]
-
- In summary, Chernishev noted that some of the militarily
significant aspects of the "psy" weaponry deserve closer research,
including the following nontraditional methods for disrupting the psyche
of an individual:
-
- * ESP research: determining the properties and condition
of objects without ever making contact with them and "reading"
peoples' thoughts * Clairvoyance research: observing objects that
are located just beyond the world of the visible--used for intelligence
purposes * Telepathy research: transmitting thoughts over a distance--used
for covert operations * Telekinesis research: actions involving
the manipulation of physical objects using thought power, causing
them to move or break apart--used against command and control systems,
or to disrupt the functioning of weapons of mass destruction
* Psychokinesis research: interfering with the thoughts of individuals,
on either the strategic or tactical level While many US scientists
undoubtedly question this research, it receives strong support in Moscow.
The point to underscore is that individuals in Russia (and other countries
as well) believe these means can be used to attack or steal from the data-processing
unit of the human body.
-
- Solntsev's research, mentioned above, differs slightly
from that of Chernishev. For example, Solntsev is more interested in hardware
capabilities, specifically the study of the information-energy source
associated with the computer-operator interface. He stresses that if these
energy sources can be captured and integrated into the modern computer,
the result will be a network worth more than "a simple sum of its
components." Other researchers are studying high-frequency generators
(those designed to stun the psyche with high frequency waves such as electromagnetic,
acoustic, and gravitational); the manipulation or reconstruction of someone's
thinking through planned measures such as reflexive control processes;
the use of psychotronics, parapsychology, bioenergy, bio fields, and psychoenergy;[14]
and unspecified "special operations" or anti-ESP training.
-
- The last item is of particular interest. According to
a Russian TV broadcast, the strategic rocket forces have begun anti-ESP
training to ensure that no outside force can take over command and control
functions of the force. That is, they are trying to construct a firewall
around the heads of the operators.
-
- Conclusions
-
- At the end of July 1997, planners for Joint Warrior Interoperability
Demonstration '97 "focused on technologies that enhance real-time
collaborative planning in a multinational task force of the type used in
Bosnia and in Operation Desert Storm. The JWID '97 network, called the
Coalition Wide-Area Network (CWAN), is the first military network that
allows allied nations to participate as full and equal partners."[15]
The demonstration in effect was a trade fair for private companies to
demonstrate their goods; defense ministries got to decide where and how
to spend their money wiser, in many cases without incurring the cost of
prototypes. It is a good example of doing business better with less. Technologies
demonstrated included:[16] * Soldiers using laptop computers to drag cross-hairs
over maps to call in airstrikes * Soldiers carrying beepers and
mobile phones rather than guns * Generals tracking movements of every
unit, counting the precise number of shells fired around the globe,
and inspecting real-time damage inflicted on an enemy, all with multicolored
graphics[17] Every account of this exercise emphasized the ability of systems
to process data and provide information feedback via the power invested
in their microprocessors. The ability to affect or defend the data-processing
capability of the human operators of these systems was never mentioned
during the exercise; it has received only slight attention during countless
exercises over the past several years. The time has come to ask why we
appear to be ignoring the operators of our systems. Clearly the information
operator, exposed before a vast array of potentially immobilizing weapons,
is the weak spot in any nation's military assets. There are few international
agreements protecting the individual soldier, and these rely on the good
will of the combatants. Some nations, and terrorists of every stripe,
don't care about such agreements.
-
- This article has used the term data-processing to demonstrate
its importance to ascertaining what so-called information warfare and
information operations are all about. Data-processing is the action this
nation and others need to protect. Information is nothing more than the
output of this activity. As a result, the emphasis on information-related
warfare terminology ("information dominance," "information
carousel") that has proliferated for a decade does not seem to fit
the situation before us. In some cases the battle to affect or protect
data-processing elements pits one mechanical system against another. In
other cases, mechanical systems may be confronted by the human organism,
or vice versa, since humans can usually shut down any mechanical system
with the flip of a switch. In reality, the game is about protecting or
affecting signals, waves, and impulses that can influence the data-processing
elements of systems, computers, or people. We are potentially the biggest
victims of information warfare, because we have neglected to protect ourselves.
-
- Our obsession with a "system of systems," "information
dominance," and other such terminology is most likely a leading cause
of our neglect of the human factor in our theories of information warfare.
It is time to change our terminology and our conceptual paradigm. Our
terminology is confusing us and sending us in directions that deal primarily
with the hardware, software, and communications components of the data-processing
spectrum. We need to spend more time researching how to protect the humans
in our data management structures. Nothing in those structures can be
sustained if our operators have been debilitated by potential adversaries
or terrorists who--right now--may be designing the means to disrupt the
human component of our carefully constructed notion of a system of systems.
-
- NOTES
-
- 1. I. Chernishev, "Can Rulers Make `Zombies' and
Control the World?" Orienteer, February 1997, pp. 58-62.
-
- 2. Douglas Pasternak, "Wonder Weapons," U.S.
News and World Report, 7 July 1997, pp. 38-46.
-
- 3. Ibid., p. 38.
-
- 4. FM 101-5-1, Operational Terms and Graphics, 30 September
1997, p. 1-82.
-
- 5. Joint Pub 3-13.1, Joint Doctrine for Command and Control
Warfare (C2W), 7 February 1996, p. v.
-
- 6. The American Heritage Dictionary (2d College Ed.;
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982), p. 660, definition 4.
-
- 7. Denis Snezhnyy, "Cybernetic Battlefield &
National Security," Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, No. 10, 15-21
March 1997, p. 2.
-
- 8. Victor I. Solntsev, "Information War and Some
Aspects of a Computer Operator's Defense," talk given at an Infowar
Conference in Washington, D.C., September 1996, sponsored by the National
Computer Security Association. Information in this section is based on
notes from Dr. Solntsev's talk.
-
- 9. Pasternak, p. 40.
-
- 10. Ibid., pp. 40-46.
-
- 11. Ibid.
-
- 12. Larry Dodgen, "Nonlethal Weapons," U.S.
News and World Report, 4 August 1997, p. 5.
-
- 13. "Background on the Aviary," Nexus Magazine,
downloaded from the Internet on 13 July 1997 from www.execpc.com/vjentpr/nexusavi.html,
p.7.
-
- 14. Aleksandr Cherkasov, "The Front Where Shots
Aren't Fired," Orienteer, May 1995, p. 45. This article was based
on information in the foreign and Russian press, according to the author,
making it impossible to pinpoint what his source was for this reference.
-
- 15. Bob Brewin, "DOD looks for IT `golden nuggets,'"
Federal Computer Week, 28 July 1997, p. 31, as taken from the Earlybird
Supplement, 4 August 1997, p.B 17.
-
- 16. Oliver August, "Zap! Hard day at the office
for NATO's laptop warriors," The Times, 28 July 1997, as taken from
the Earlybird Supplement, 4 August 1997, p. B 16.
-
- 17. Ibid. ________________________
-
- Lieutenant Colonel Timothy L. Thomas (USA Ret.) is an
analyst at the Foreign Military Studies Office, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Recently he has written extensively on the Russian view of information
operations and on current Russian military-political issues. During his
military career he served in the 82d Airborne Division and was the Department
Head of Soviet Military-Political Affairs at the US Army's Russian Institute
in Garmisch, Germany.
-
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