War of 2050: a Battle for Information, Communications, and Computer Security

TL;DR

The paper discusses how future warfare in 2050 will be dominated by information technology, with new capabilities like intelligent systems and augmented humans creating critical vulnerabilities in information security that will shape battlefield outcomes.

Contribution

It provides a future scenario analysis highlighting the transformative role of information technologies and the importance of cybersecurity in future warfare.

Findings

Intelligent systems and augmented humans will be central to future warfare.

Cyber vulnerabilities in information and communication systems will be decisive.

Battle for information security will determine military success in 2050.

Abstract

As envisioned in a recent future-casting workshop, warfare will continue to be transformed by advances in information technologies. In fact, information itself will become the decisive domain of warfare. Four developments will significantly change the nature of the battle. The first of these will be a proliferation of intelligent systems; the second, augmented humans; the third, the decisive battle for the information domain; and the fourth, the introduction of new, networked approaches to command and control. Each of these new capabilities possesses the same critical vulnerability - attacks on the information, communications and computers that will enable human-robot teams to make sense of the battlefield and act decisively. Hence, the largely unseen battle for information, communications and computer security will determine the extent to which adversaries will be able to function and succeed on the battlefield of 2050.