*** Media in Hybrid Warfare

By Lt Gen Prakash Katoch

09 Nov , 2016

http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/media-in-hybrid-warfare/

This is not only about the hullabaloo on the one-day ban on NDTV India and people shouting from rooftops about ‘freedom of speech’. To the irony of the country, similar minute by minute coverage went on for 60 hours during the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks, to the joy of both the terrorists and their handlers in Pakistan; coverage including the photo-op of the then Home Minister how many NSG he was dispatching ex Delhi, when they would reach Mumbai, location and movement of our troops around the buildings occupied by terrorists, visuals of NSG boys slithering down helicopters and every other possible detail. It would be height of naivety to deflect this to mere hunger for TRPs. Little wonder then that Hafiz Saeed recently lauded select media of India so lovingly.

What we see in India is diagrammatically opposite to how China is securing itself not only against hacking and terrorism, but also hybrid warfare in which all type of media (electronic, print, social) and cyberspace play major role…

Certainly we are not China but the holy cows chanting ‘freedom of speech’ might get high voltage shocks discovering the new cyber security law China has recently adopted against growing threat of hackers and terrorists – a law that that may even require foreign companies to hand over intellectual property to help security agencies in return for market access. China considered this law necessary despite China’s Great Firewall and indigenous operating systems. Critical information infrastructure operators would be required to store personal information and important business data in China and provide unspecified “technical support” to security agencies, in addition to the requirement of passing national security reviews.

Clearly China recognizes that cyberspace profoundly impacts multiple aspects of national security, and as such, cyberspace is national property.

What we see in India is diagrammatically opposite to how China is securing itself not only against hacking and terrorism, but also hybrid warfare in which all type of media (electronic, print, social) and cyberspace play major role; media providing potent weapon platform by way of information operations including perception building. Rapid advancements in information technology allow filming and sharing information and images on real time basis by anyone, which traditional media is tasked anyway.

The ability to share information rapidly provides the opportunity to adversaries and radicals (individuals and groups) to spread their message to enormous number of target audiences through electronic or social media. Injection into social media can be from any place at home or abroad. Radical individuals or groups may be do so due to their beliefs or as be part of hybrid warfare program of the adversarial country with funding directly or through third sources.

Same is the case of media reporting that helps terrorists or inflames communalism and unrest. It is even more complicated when we come to social media which is borderless.

Take the case of Zakir Naik, who would have merrily carried on without the terror attack on the café in Dhaka and Bangladesh pointing out that the motivation to terrorists came from Naik. It may be difficult to establish whether or not he was also working on the behest of the ISI just because of foreign funding. Same is the case of media reporting that helps terrorists or inflames communalism and unrest. It is even more complicated when we come to social media which is borderless.

Furthermore, the virtual environment is an unregulated; environment in which anonymity provides more opportunities than ever to disseminate extreme views, deliberate misinformation, and create hoaxes without revealing the person or organization behind the creation of the content. With little cost or effort, social media has become potent tool of warfighting that is in use both by states and terrorist groups.

The setting for present situation in J&K that aggravated after the killing of Burhan Wani had been orchestrated much earlier through skillful exploitation of media and cyberspace by ISI to Pakistan’s advantage. This continues to-date including with Hurriyat separatist’s diktats finding space in the vernacular print media. Such exploitation of media and cyberspace as part of hybrid war to influence human psychology and mould perceptions is reality and will continue to occur.

More sophisticated methods like those used by ISIS are likely to be adopted; ranging from overt dissemination of media news and official announcements to covert methods such as falsified images, fake accounts, spreading rumours, deception, social engineering, and other methods of crowd manipulation. Some of this we have already witnessed with reference to J&K also.

In India, we continue to be obsessed with conventional war and its preparation, not realizing that hybrid war…

Internet cannot be banned indefinitely and other media like mobile apps is available anyway. Also, Pakistan is firmly ensconced under the Chinese umbrella; benefitted with all the expertise of ambiguity, deceit and cyber warfare.

It would have been good if having been served notice in January this year, NDTV India had gone to court and let the law award judgment – setting precedence for all such cases in future. The case of government imposing the ban after some 10 months and then putting it ‘on hold’ too is ironic but then vote-bank politicking takes precedence over everything else.

The fact remains that with most of our media houses foreign based, there is every possibility to exploit them to India’s disadvantage. Much of our media would like to copy western media but ‘without’ following western norms and regulations, as well as self regulation.

Many of those working more for cross-border interests rather than own national interests are easily identifiable. Pitiably, with all the reports of cross-border funds pouring into the country, there have been no probes into such funds coming to select media to assist waging hybrid war.

India must examine how our adversaries are exploiting media in hybrid warfare to further their national interests. In doing so, we must not ignore what Chanakya referred to as the ‘enemy within’.

In India, we continue to be obsessed with conventional war and its preparation, not realizing that hybrid war that we have been fighting is continuous and far more dangerous being a mix of the conventional, sub-conventional , irregular and cyber, the irregular including all other form including space, electromagnetic and the like. Pakistan has been using a mix of regulars in conventional wars, as also hybrid wars as at present.

Media is an extremely potent weapon in hybrid warfare, which Pakistan’s ISI is adept in using having copied CIA and Chinese Intelligence methods. Interestingly, why China had banned Falun Gong was not because this exercise posed any danger, but China did not want groups of Chinese nationals getting together and start thinking in particular direction. However, media and social media have changed all that. Heightened social media presence can be more effective than efforts to weaken other information actors by limiting the distribution of their messages.

Policy makers need to acknowledge that ignorance and lack of engagement in social media is no longer an option. On balance, India must examine how our adversaries are exploiting media in hybrid warfare to further their national interests. In doing so, we must not ignore what Chanakya referred to as the ‘enemy within’. The ‘Eco System’ must be constantly monitored for inimical acts by design or default.

As importantly, we must not make the same mistake as in the sub-conventional sphere; remaining purely defensive. We must use media pro-actively to contend hybrid wars thrust upon us.

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