Head of the RAF says armed forces must embrace internet technology
Source: Kim Sengupta, Independent’s Defence Correspondent
Britain needs to learn from the actions of the Israeli military in the Gaza in using YouTube and tweets to engage in 21st-century cyber-warfare, the head of the Royal Air force said yesterday.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton highlighted how the Israeli Air Force used the internet in the battle over international public opinion during last year’s conflict as an example of harnessing new technology.
“Accurate and timely information has always been critical to the military but its importance is increasing as societies become more networked,” he stated. “This is intimately linked to developments in space and cyber-space; as we saw in the conflict in Gaza in early 2009, operations on the ground were paralleled by operations in cyber-space and an ‘info ops’ campaign that was fought across the internet: the Israeli Air Force downloaded sensor imagery onto YouTube, tweets warned of rocket attacks and the ‘help-us-win.com’ blog was used to mobilise public support.”