Information Warfare (IW) in a nutshell  

In order to fully appreciate the lethal potential of IW, it is necessary to remember Von Clausewitz's classic statement "war is a continuation of diplomacy by other means".  A country is primarily and ultimately a political entity. There is a reason Russia (and the USSR before) regarded an adversary's political system as a legitimate target. To them, it is the adversary's political infrastructure, and, in fact, its most vital infrastructure. Paralyze and subvert it, and you have severely compromised, perhaps even destroyed, your adversary's ability to respond to your aggression without firing a shot.  

IW, sometimes also referred to as cyber-media warfare, is the newest weapon in the growing hybrid-warfare arsenal. This is not the first time there have been attempts to weaponize information. In both world wars, both sides used propaganda to demoralize the enemy, without much success. During the Cold War, the USSR tried, without much success, to use disinformation to generate anti-American opinion in Europe, in order to break up NATO. 

The advent of the information age has changed the equation. The confluence of advanced HUMINT capabilities with information and cyber technologies and social media has created near "perfect storm" conditions for weaponizing information, producing disinformation on steroids.     

At the moment Russia, which historically has highly prioritized hybrid warfare and maskirovka in general, and on IW in particular, is the prime instigator of IW. This however could change, and quite rapidly. Not only could we begin seeing this highly disruptive weapon adopted by other countries, but by major players in the private sector as well.CISec has developed a comprehensive "cloak and data" HUMINT-based strategic and operational doctrine, leveraged and enhanced by the latest cutting-edge cyber capabilities, enabling us to provide clients with an effective IW solution that includes advanced defensive and offensive capabilities.