Note: Many topics at this site are reduced versions of the text in "The Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications." Search results will not be as extensive as a search of the book's CD-ROM.

Information warfare is war waged in cyberspace against a competitor, a group, or another nation. The attacker targets the information resources of its opponent, eavesdrops on vital communications, and uses other techniques such as spying and social engineering to gain advantage.

Many people consider information warfare one of the most serious concerns of the information age, because it can be waged by anyone with minimal resources across the global Internet. A group or nation may hire known hackers, out-of-work programmers, and experts in the field to wage wars over the global communications network.

An information war may involve attacks against banking systems, media and information Web sites, communication systems, the power companies, transportation and distribution systems, agricultural systems, and so on. In a well-planned attack, all of these attacks and more may take place simultaneously. In fact, many of the individual attacks that have been taking place over the years may only be "tests" designed to "sniff out" vulnerabilities in preparation for much larger attacks.

The InfoSysSec Web site listed on the related entries page is the place to start your research into information warfare and security issues in general.

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