COSC429-06S2 (U) Semester Two 2006 (University Campus)

Information Warfare

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 10 July 2006
End Date: Sunday, 12 November 2006
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Friday, 21 July 2006
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Friday, 6 October 2006

Description

This course will provide an introduction to the subject of information warfare and its role in contemporary military thinking, and to understand the scope and limitations of information operations.

This course covers the Revolution in Military Affairs, addressing in particular the two major areas of integration of sensor and management information on the battlefield, and cyber attacks and defense.  The various theories of Information Warfare are considered, and the mechanisms used in Defense Information Operations and Offensive Information Operations are reviewed.  The course involves laboratory exercises in network mapping and surveillance and practical analysis of contemporary cyber attacks.
•      Information and Technology Imperialism.  The ways in which countries that provide hardware and operating systems can embed trapdoors in systems to enable remote access (computer network attack). The ability of countries that provide technology solutions to effect information/technology blockade.  The use of routing to divert data paths to covert interception points.

•      Malicious Cryptography.  Trapdoors in cryptography.

•      Revolution in Military Affairs. The definition of information warfare and the transition of military thinking through stages 1, 2 and 3 of the information revolution.  The concept of military targeting of leadership without engaging military defences. Information warfare and the intelligence function. The concepts of defensive information operations and offensive information operations. National IW efforts.

•      Defensive Information Operations.  The Global Information Grid.  Hardening information systems. Concepts of high grade cryptography. DIO research and development.

•      Offensive Information Operations.   The phases of an IW attack. Planning offensive information operations. The structure and capabilities of information weapons.

•      Practical Exercises.   Network surveillance methods.  Tools for IW research and development.

Prerequisites

Subject to Head of Department approval.

Lecturer

Malcolm Shore

Course links

Library portal

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $523.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Computer Science and Software Engineering .

All COSC429 Occurrences

  • COSC429-06S2 (U) Semester Two 2006 (University Campus)