Cyberspace- The New Battle Front

26 Jul 2006

Award winners Mark McIntyre, DRDC and LCol Rob Knight, Canadian Forces Information Operations Group, were invited to present their paper at the International Command and Control Research and Technology Symposium (CCRTS) 2006 in San Diego, California.

“An Operational framework for Battle in Network Space” won the Gary F. Wheatley award for best paper in 2005. The symposium is sponsored by the Command and Control Research Program from the Office of the US Secretary of Defense and is focused on concepts such as Network Centric Operations, Effects Based Operations and transformation.

The collaboration between LCol Knight and Dr. McIntyre occurred over several years while they were leading the Information Operations Thrust. Their paper focused on the indispensability of the internet and how it must be protected as a vital tool for the Canadian Forces (CF). The CF must be able to sustain, protect and defend its members in the network environment just as they protect themselves on land, at sea and in the air.

The paper provides an overview of network-enabled operations and information operations, and draws direct analogies between protection and defence in physical space as well as in cyberspace. The ideas in the paper form the basis for the strategic direction of research and development (R&D) in cyberspace protection. The ideas are also finding their way directly into operational DND networks. The international recognition for this paper is another strong indicator of the world class calibre of the R&D program at DRDC and the operational practices of DND.