Electronic or "cyber" warfare holds the promise of destroying an army's — or even a whole nation's — ability to function without hurting human life. The technology is reaching the point, however, where cyber warfare may be decisive in its own right. 61) {{U}}In highly centralized military operations, communications and data management have become essential tools linking individual small units and the central command structure.{{/U}}
The neutron bomb is one of the most horrid weapons ever devised: It doesn't damage property; it only kills higher life-forms. 62) {{U}}Wouldn't the opposite be wonderful, a device like the robot's ray in The Day the Earth Stood Still, which melts down weapons but not soldiers?{{/U}} Electronic or "cyber" warfare — hacking into an enemy's computers, jamming radio transmissions, and the like-holds that promise. It can-destroy an army's — or even a whole nation's — ability to function, but does not hurt human life.
The United States has very good electronic warfare capabilities, but has used them only to support conventional military operations. The technology is reaching the point, however, where cyber warfare may be decisive in its own right. 63) {{U}}Before we imagine what such a "cyberwar" scenario might be like, let's briefly look at how electronic warfare developed.{{/U}}
During the Civil War, operations conducted by the Union army against the Confederate telegraph system foretold modern twentieth-century electronic warfare. Union operatives penetrated Confederate lines to tap into and read military traffic on the Confederate telegraph system. 64) {{U}}Not only did these operations yield valuable intelligence information, but some operators even began sending bogus messages to sow confusion in the Confederate ranks.{{/U}}
Just before World War I, radio communication seemed like a real boon to naval operations because it allowed ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore communications, especially in bad weather. Before this time, flags or light blinkers with limited range provided the only means of communication between ships.
Naval ship captains, however, were aware that a sophisticated set of shore-based equipment could locate ships by their radio transmission. By listening to the transmissions, the enemy could ascertain the number and type of ships even if they could not decode actual messages. For this reason, the U. S. Navy was particularly resistant to using radio. However, U.S. military observers aboard British warships soon saw that the tactical advantages of radio outweighed the intelligence losses.
Electronic warfare grew rapidly in World War II with the advent of radar. 65) {{U}}Monitoring radar frequencies allowed spoofing or jamming of enemy radar and led to major units and equipment devoted solely to countermeasures and counter-countermeasures. Gathering{{/U}} intelligence from radio transmissions also increased greatly.