Information Warfare: Assuring Digital Intelligence Collection
Abstract
The advent of the digital age has made it inevitable that troops in contact will fall upon computers and related equipment valuable for the information they can provide about the enemy. In this paper, Dr. William G. Perry provides some guidelines about processing computer equipment for transfer to information and intelligence professionals who might wring out from digital storage media the critical information needed to penetrate the enemy's decision matrix. In addition, captured computer gear may often need to be protected by a chain of custody to support legal actions against illegal combatants/criminals. The digital age meshes with the 21st century irregular warfare environment in which nonstate actors, armed groups, terrorists, and criminals confront established governments. Today's Special Operations Forces (SOF) are most likely to confront these opponents while on counterinsurgency, foreign internal defense, and counterterrorism missions. From the moment of tactical discovery until its presentation in the courtroom, digital evidence will need to be safeguarded and a valid chain of custody maintained so that the host nation (or U.S. Government) might successfully bring criminals to justice. This will fall on the shoulders of the SOF operators at the tip of the spear who must add yet another skill set to their already full rucksacks. Particularly in direct action missions, the need to properly capture and bag-up enemy digital material can be critical to mission success, both for intelligence and legal purposes. Every strike team that descends upon the target will consider employing a "forensics team" that can rapidly identify sources of valuable digital information, document the findings, and secure computers and storage media.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA514505
Entities
People
- William G. Perry
Organizations
- Joint Special Operations University